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.
