Week commencing 15 March 1993

One thing this week in 1993's new entries peaking outside the Australian top 100 have in common is that I was not familiar with any of them at the time.  Perhaps they are new to you too?  Let's take a look.

 

Gyan trying to visualise a second hit that never came.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 120 "Walking Through Syrup" by Ned's Atomic Dustbin

Peak: number 111

Peak dates: 22 March 1993 and 5 April 1993

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 120-111-113-111-122-121

 

We last saw English rock band Ned's Atomic Dustbin in 1991.

 

"Walking Through Syrup" was the second single released in Australia from the band's second studio album Are You Normal? (number 79, March 1993).  It followed "Not Sleeping Around", which was released locally in October 1992 but missed the top 150.

 

I cannot find evidence of "Walking Through Syrup" charting elsewhere, other than the song reaching number 13 on the US Billboard Alternative Airplay chart.

 

A third single from Are You Normal?, "Intact", was released in Australia in May 1993, but missed the top 150.  "Walking Through Syrup" was the band's final ARIA top 150 single, although they had a later charting album with Brainbloodvolume (number 128, April 1995).  After that album, the band split, before reforming in 2000.

 

 

 

Number 125 "Quality Time" by Hi-Five

Peak: number 114

Peak date: 5 April 1993

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 125-117-123-114-125-120-133

 

American R&B vocal quintet Hi-Five last joined us in 1992.

 

"Quality Time" was the second single lifted from the group's second album Keep It Goin' On (number 130, November 1992).  It followed "She's Playing Hard to Get" (number 46, January 1993), which was Hi-Five's highest-charting single in Australia, and spent 24 weeks in the top 150.

 

Internationally, "Quality Time" peaked at number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in January 1993, and number 36 in New Zealand in March 1993.

 

I wasn't expecting the vocals on this one to be as deep as they are, given the pre-voice breaking vocals heard on some of the group's earlier singles.

 

I remembered that two of the band members had died, one of whom was paralysed in the 90s following a car accident, when looking for information on Hi-Five when they first bubbled under in 1991; but one thing I overlooked was that another member of the group, Russell Neal, was charged with murdering his wife in 2014!  So much tragedy in one group.

 

We'll see Hi-Five one more time, in 1994.

 

 

 

Number 139 "Stay" by Wrecking Crew

Peak: number 117

Peak date: 19 April 1993

Weeks in top 150: 10 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 139-138-122-127-124-117-129-140-142-146

 

Australian band Wrecking Crew formed in Sydney in 1987.  "Stay" was their second release, following their debut single "Welcome to the Circus", which was released in November 1992  but missed the top 150.  Both tracks appear on the band's only album Fun in the Doghouse (number 115, June 1993).

 

I can't find much information about the band online, but can tell you the band members were Dave Wilkins (vocals), Brenton Dehn (guitar), Dave Reynolds (bass), and Gary Synerdahl (drums). 

We'll see Wrecking Crew once more, in July 1993.

 

 

Number 144 "Stop the World" by Extreme

Peak: number 128

Peak date: 12 April 1993

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 144-134-145-142-128-133-150

Weeks on chart: 10 weeks

 

We last saw American band Extreme in 1989.  Since then, the group had their commercial breakthrough in Australia with the acoustic ballad "More Than Words" (number 2 for two weeks in August-September 1991), and its follow-up, "Hole Hearted" (number 24, November 1991).  Neither track was typical of the band's usual rock/metal sound, which is always problematic.

 

"Stop the World" was the second single released from Extreme's third studio album III Sides to Every Story (number 42, October 1992).  It followed "Rest in Peace" (number 76, October 1992).

 

Internationally, "Stop the World" peaked at number 12 in the UK in November 1992, number 19 in Canada in February 1993, and number 95 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in February 1993.

 

Locally, "Stop the World" performed equally-strongest in Queensland and Western Australia, reaching number 116 on both state charts.

 

An interesting, if not rather disturbing, fact I uncovered while researching this track is that the music video features the late British actress and model Kadamba Simmons, who was strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend in June 1998, aged 24.

 

We won't see Extreme again, but they had a final charting single in Australia in 1995 with "Hip Today" (number 99, February 1995).

 

 

Number 145 "Visualize" by Gyan

Peak: number 145

Peak date: 15 March 1993

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 145

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

 

Gyan (pronounced 'gee-AHN', with a hard g) - not her real name (she has never revealed what that is) Evans grew up in Belmont, a suburb of Geelong (and where I lived until I was 10), and attended the primary school adjacent to the high school I went to.  She made a splash on the chart with her debut single "Wait" (number 14, October 1989), and a promising recording career seemed to beckon.  Unfortunately, that was not to be the case, and only one other single of hers, second release "It's Alright" (number 49, December 1989), landed within the ARIA top 50.  Both tracks were taken from her gold-certified debut album Gyan (number 27, November 1989), which also contained her third single "Black Wedding Ring" (number 93, February 1990).

 

After a two and a half year hiatus, Gyan returned in the second half of 1992 with her second album Reddest Red (number 105, October 1992), preceded by the single "Something's Gotta Give" (number 80, September 1992).  Neither release set the charts on fire.

 

"Visualize" was the second single lifted from Reddest Red, and took five months after its mid-October 1992 release to crawl into the top 150, after debuting at number 227 on 2 November 1992.  On the state charts, "Visualize" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 99.  I am not sure why there was such belated interest in the single.  I didn't hear this song until obtaining the video in the mid-late 2000s - it's nice enough, but a bit on the unmemorable side.  Gyan's voice is fantastic as always on this track, though.

 

A third single from Reddest Red, "Goodnews", appears to have been released in 1993, though it is not listed among the weekly lists of new release titles in The ARIA Report.  It did not chart.

 

Gyan now lives in Byron Bay.  This was her last charting release.

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 161 "Build" by Innocence

Peak: number 161

Peak date: 15 March 1993

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

 

We last saw English R&B band Innocence in February 1993, a mere six weeks ago.

 

"Build" was the title track and third single lifted from their second and final studio album Build (number 217, December 1992).  It followed "I'll Be There" (number 174, August 1992) and "One Love in My Lifetime" (number 168, February 1993).

 

Internationally, "Build" peaked at number 72 in the UK in November 1992.  In Australia, the single was most popular in Queensland, where it reached number 145 on the state chart.

 

I first heard "Build" in the early 2010s when it appeared on a VHS compilation I was digitising.  I like the stark piano ballad a lot, and think it should have been a much bigger hit.

 

Innocence disbanded after this single's release.

 

 

 

Number 190 "Paper Doll" by Fleetwood Mac

Peak: number 183

Peak date: 22 March 1993

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

 

We last saw transatlantic band Fleetwood Mac in 1990.

 

"Paper Doll" was one of four new songs recorded for the compilation album Selections from 25 Years - The Chain (number 2, September 2013), which originally peaked at number 125 in Australia in February 1993.  Stevie Nicks sings lead on this track.

 

At the time of writing this, the Wikipedia page for this single incorrectly claimed that "Paper Doll" was exclusively released as a single in North America.  Last time I checked, Australia was not part of that continent!  It does not, however, appear to have been released in the UK, missing the top 200 singles chart there completely.

 

Internationally, "Paper Doll" peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart (analogous to peaking at number 108, though not quite) in December 1992, and at number 9 in Canada in February 1993.  The song also registered on two US Billboard genre-specific charts, peaking at number 26 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in December 1992, and number 32 on the Adult Contemporary chart in January 1993.

 

In Australia, "Paper Doll" performed strongest in Western Australia, reaching number 133 on the state chart.

 

Despite their Greatest Hits (number 3, January 1989) compilation being seemingly inescapable, I hadn't heard "Paper Doll" until writing this post; granted, the song does not appear on that set.  I wasn't expecting to like the song, given it's an obscure-ish cast-off track of theirs, but it's quite decent.  The music video for "Paper Doll", on the other hand, was quickly thrown together, using footage from earlier Fleetwood Mac videos.

 

Fleetwood Mac will next join us in 1997.

 

 

Number 200 "Living on Dreams" by Flash and The Pan

Peak: number 200

Peak date: 15 March 1993

Weeks on chart: 1 week

 

We last heard from Australian duo Flash and The Pan in 1992.  "Living on Dreams" was the second and final single from their sixth and final studio album Burning Up the Night (released Australia in September 1992, did not chart).

 

On the state charts, "Living on Dreams" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 176.

 

We will see Flash in the Pan on one more occasion, in 1995.

 

 

Next week (22 March): Eight top 150 entries and two bubbling WAY down under debuts.

 

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Week commencing 18 September 1989

This week in 1989 there were nine new entries peaking between number 101 and number 150.  This would hold the record for the largest number of debuts for any week of 1989, if not for the first top 150 singles chart ever produced, on 30 January 1989, which saw 23 new entries.

A loose lyrical theme running through this week's debuts is being free with your 'love'.  Whether that's busting moves at your best friend's wedding, being flippant about the name of the person you're writing a love song about, or stating explicitly (in quite a literal sense!) what you want to do to your 'lover', it's all here this week.  Let's take a look...

Young MC was not quite 'bustin'' on the ARIA chart in 1989.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 119 "This Feeling" by Sam Brown 

Peak: number 115

Peak date: 25 September 1989

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Chart run: 119-115-125-124-138-136

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

Released as the third single from Sam's debut album Stop! in Europe, "This Feeling" stalled at number 91 in the UK in August 1988. The single had greater, albeit moderate, success in the Dutch-speaking Flanders region of Belgium, and the Netherlands, where it peaked at numbers 23 and 32, respectively, in November 1988. Sam then scored her biggest hit with the re-issue issue of "Stop!" in early 1989.

In Australia, "This Feeling" was Sam's fourth single, following "Walking Back to Me" (released April 1988, failed to chart), "Stop!" (number 4, May 1989) and "Can I Get a Witness?" (number 17, August 1989).  The track features a guitar solo from David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.

I remember seeing the "This Feeling" single in the shops, but never heard the song or caught the video anywhere at the time; so, presumably, its success was hindered by a lack of promotion. It's a shame, as "This Feeling" is actually my favourite Sam Brown song, and I think it deserved a lot better. "This Feeling" performed strongest on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart, where it peaked at number 86. Sam will pay us another visit in 1990.

 

 

Number 127 "Be Free with Your Love" by Spandau Ballet 

Peak: number 110

Peak date: 25 September 1989

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks 

Chart run: 152-127-110-115-115-124-122-124

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

 

In Australia, Spandau Ballet's greatest success came in 1983, where they scored back-to-back top 10 hits with "True" (number 4, September 1983) and "Gold" (number 9, November 1983).  In total, the group amassed ten top 40 hits in Australia between 1981 and 1986, with their final top 100 chart entry being "Raw" (number 79, October 1988). "Be Free with Your Love" was the belated follow-up to "Raw", and was the second single lifted from their Heart Like a Sky album (number 115, October 1989). The single had greater, albeit modest, success in their native UK, where it peaked at number 42 in September 1989.

 

In Australia, "Be Free with Your Love" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 91 on the state chart.  The single peaked within the top 100 on all of the state charts other than New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it peaked at number 106.

 

I don't recall hearing this one before, but I like it.

 

Spandau Ballet will join us again in 1991.

Number 139 "Bust a Move" by Young MC 

Peak: number 139 (in 1989); number 1 (in 1990)

Peak dates: 18 September 1989 (1989 chart run); 22 October 1990 (1990 chart run)

Weeks in top 150: 2 weeks (in 1989); 29 weeks (1989 and 1990-1991 chart runs combined)

Top 150 chart run: 139-(out for 6 weeks)-149

Re-entered 16 July 1990: 143-95-47-46-40-30-22-25-15-12-7-4-4-2-1-2-3-4-6-18-36-50-66-(chart repeated for 2 week Xmas break)-68-75

Weeks on chart: 33 weeks (1989 and 1990-1991 chart runs combined)

I know some of you reading this might be thinking, "Isn't this blog supposed to be about flops that missed the top 100?" Well, yes, that is its raison d'être, but I will also write about singles that flopped upon their initial release (or later re-release, after once being a hit), such as this one from Young MC.

"Bust a Move" was the second release for Young MC (real name Marvin Young) in Australia, following the 12" vinyl-only release of "Know How" in May 1989. Issued locally in early July 1989, "Bust a Move" took just over two months to dent the top 150. Despite the initial lack of success, Young MC had co-written both of Tone Lōc's 1989 hits, "Wild Thing" (number 15, May 1989) and "Funky Cold Medina" (number 8, August 1989). "Bust a Move" had greater success in the US, where it peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1989.

I caught the "Bust a Move" music video at least twice on Countdown Revolution in 1989, and even recall someone at school reciting the "she's dressed in yellow, she says hello" couplet at the time, so I am not sure why "Bust a Move" flopped the first time around - other than because, as I have previously written, rap generally didn't do that well on the Australian singles chart during its 1980s heyday.  Of course, "Bust a Move" would go on to top the ARIA singles chart in October 1990, after being re-released. Young MC will join us again in 1991.

Number 141 "Regina" by The Sugarcubes 

Peak: number 141

Peak date: 18 September 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 141

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

The Sugarcubes were a group I remember hearing and reading about at the time, but wasn't aware of them until taking note of lead singer Björk's solo career in 1993. Somehow, the group's non-charting single "Birthday" (released in Australia in September 1988) had filtered its way through to me, but I never knew what the song was called or who it was by at the time. The lead single from their Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! album (number 105, October 1989), "Regina", conversely, completely passed me by. Listening to it now, "Regina" doesn't seem particularly chart-friendly, and indeed, the only other major chart it registered on was in the UK, where it peaked at number 55 in September 1989.

 

In Australia, "Regina" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 106 on the state chart.

 

The only other charting single The Sugarcubes had in Australia was "Hit" (number 76, March 1992).

Number 142 "Hump Music" by No Face 

Peak: number 132 (in 1989); number 64 (in 1990)

Peak dates: 2 October 1989 (1989 chart run); 30 April 1990 (1990 chart run)

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks (in 1989); 13 weeks (1989 and 1990 chart runs combined)

Top 150 chart run: 142-(out for 1 week)-132-(out of chart for 3 weeks)-147-145

Re-entered 12 March 1990: 142-147-138-122-68-73-74-64-72

Another rap track that didn't crossover into the mainstream in 1989, but did a little bit better in 1990, was "Hump Music" by No Face. Although, in this instance, it's understandable why this didn't become a major chart hit (or is it?), given the more... overtly sexual nature of the lyrics, with lines such as "Girl, I'll f**k you, give me p*ssy now", "suck my d*ck all night long" and "I'll f*ck you, I'll dump you, I'll suck you". Ooh er Missus!  Nevertheless, "Hump Music" got a second lease of life on the ARIA chart, where it re-entered in March 1990, and peaked at number 64 at the end of April 1990.

Number 143 "Kid Ego" by Extreme 

Peak: number 138

Peak date: 25 September 1989

Weeks in top 150: 3 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 143-138-148

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

Like most Australians, I'd never heard of Extreme until their breakthrough hit, "More Than Words" (number 2, August 1991); an acoustic ballad that was nothing like their typical sound. Released as the band's second single in the US, but their first in Australia, the glam metal "Kid Ego" peaked at number 39 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart (which doesn't count as a real chart in my book), and appears to have not charted anywhere else other than New Zealand, where it peaked at number 13 in August 1989. Lifted from the album Extreme (number 97, August 1989), "Kid Ego" performed better on the Australian Music Report chart, where it peaked at number 93. On the state charts, "Kid Ego" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it peaked at number 79. We will next see Extreme in 1993.

Number 145 "Song for Whoever" by The Beautiful South 

Peak: number 145

Peak date: 18 September 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 145

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

The Beautiful South were a band I remember reading about in UK Smash Hits-rival magazine Number One, which I read regularly in 1989 and 1990 (before my local newsagent stopped stocking it). I never heard any of their music though until "A Little Time" became a minor hit locally (number 72, May 1991) - and, in fact, their only top 100 single in Australia. Formed from the remnants of The Housemartins, whose biggest and only real hit in Australia was their version of "Caravan of Love" (number 24, June 1987), "Song for Whoever" was The Beautiful South's debut single. The track, lifted from their Welcome to the Beautiful South album, peaked at number 2 in the group's native UK in July 1989.

 

I didn't hear this track until 2007, when it became one of my favourite 'new' music discoveries that year. Known as the "music man" with a stash of music at the ready at a former job, someone once asked me to put some music on when a 'colleague' announced that she eloped on an overseas holiday during a staff meeting. The nearest thing I could grab was a CD-R (how quaint) with this on it as track 1. I'm not sure how well lines like "I love you from the bottom of my pencil case" fit the occasion, but it's not like anyone was really listening. Still, I think it was a more-fitting song than the one the requester had suggested - Billy Idol's "White Wedding" (do people not listen to the lyrics?!).

On the state charts, "Song for Whoever" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it
peaked at number 114. We shall see The Beautiful South again in 1990.

Number 147 "I'm Every Woman (Remix)" by Chaka Khan 

Peak: number 147

Peak date: 18 September 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Chart run: 147

Weeks on chart: 1 week

Despite having name recognition, Chaka Khan only had two solo top 100-charting singles in Australia - those being the original version of "I'm Every Woman" (number 27, March 1979), and "I Feel for You" (number 4, December 1984). Even with her group Rufus, they only managed to score one Australian top 100 'hit' - "Tell Me Something Good" (number 64, November 1974). Despite Chaka's relative lack of success, this 1989 remix of "I'm Every Woman", lifted from the remix album Life Is a Dance - The Remix Album (number 143, July 1989), managed to register on our chart - albeit in the lower reaches of the top 150. This version of "I'm Every Woman" performed much better in the UK, where it peaked at number 8
for two weeks in May 1989.

We will next see Chaka as a featured artist in 1990, and on her own in 1992.

Number 150 "Some Hearts" by Marshall Crenshaw 

Peak: number 140

Peak date: 16 October 1989

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 150-144-(out for 1 week)-150-140-148

Before getting hold of these charts, I had never heard of Marshall Crenshaw, who hails from the US. Marshall had previously placed one single in the Australian top 100, "Someday, Someway" (number 57, December 1982). "Some Hearts" was written by Diane Warren, and was originally offered to Belinda Carlisle, who recorded a demo for her 1987 Heaven on Earth album, but it did not evolve beyond the demo stage. Interestingly, this song did not chart anywhere else.

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 152 "Some People" by E.G. Daily 

Peak: number 152

Peak date: 18 September 1989

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

Now here's someone I had heard of before... unknowingly, as the voice of Tommy Pickles on the Nickelodeon cartoon Rugrats - a show I used to sometimes watch in 1996 to wind down from a day of my final year of high school. But long before then, E.G. (real name: Elizabeth Ann Guttman) had a brush with fame playing 'Patti', the 17 year-old teenage runaway who later gave birth to a 10 lb. baby boy, in Rod Stewart's "Young Turks" (number 3, March 1982) music video. In between being a dancer in music videos and a voiceover actress, E.G. tried her hand at being a pop star. While she never achieved massive success in her recording career, E.G. did score a top 20 hit in Belgium, the Netherlands and New Zealand, with "Say It, Say It" in 1986.

Elizabeth also recorded a track with Stock Aitken Waterman, "Mind Over Matter", released overseas in 1987 to promote the film Summer School.  In Australia, "Mind Over Matter" had a belated release in July 1988, and whilst it peaked at number 44 on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart in September 1988, it did not chart nationally on the ARIA chart (probably because the chart ended at number 100 in 1988).  "Mind Over Matter" did, however, reach number 84 on the Australian Music Report chart.  Interestingly, Stock Aitken Waterman originally recorded "Mind Over Matter" with Deborah Harry, but it was shelved, and remains unreleased to this day.

After that long introduction, let's take a look at the track at hand. "Some People" was released as the lead single from the album Lace Around the World. While it reached number 33 on the US Dance chart (not a real chart, according to me), the single failed to chart anywhere else.

In Australia, "Some People" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 104.

 

 

Number 153 "Thing Called Love" by Bonnie Raitt

Peak: number 153

Peak date: 18 September 1989

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

 

American Bonnie Raitt had been releasing albums since 1971, but "Thing Called Love", from her tenth studio album Nick of Time (number 58, April 1990), was her first single to register on the Australian chart.

 

The Nick of Time album was also Bonnie's major commercial breakthrough in the US, where it topped the chart and was certified quintuple platinum.  That being said, "Thing Called Love" did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100, despite later singles from the album doing so.

Elsewhere, "Thing Called Love" peaked at number 86 in the UK in June 1990, and number 66 in the Netherlands in September 1990.

 

On the ARIA state charts, "Thing Called Love" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it peaked at number 125.

Listening to "Thing Called Love" as I write this, I can't help but think that it might have been a much bigger hit if it had've been released a couple of years later, when the popularity of blues-twinged music seemed to take off in Australia.  The song is certainly catchy.

 

Bonnie will break into the ARIA top 150 single chart in May 1990, twice!

 

 

Next week (25 September): Another six new top 150 entries, and two bubbling WAY down under debuts. Among them, we have the first charting song about the drug ecstasy, and the last chart entry from a duo who were nudging the top of the charts earlier in the year. You can also follow my posts on facebook and instagram.

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