Week commencing 3 February 1992

There isn't a common thread I can identify linking this week in 1992's new entries peaking outside the top 100 I can identify, other than there are several (for me, anyway) unexpected entries among them.  Shall we take a look? 

 

Donna Summer's hair stylist tried to work some magic on that hair.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 121 "Sisters Keep on Doin' It" by Dimples D & Lady Spice

Peak: number 116

Peak date: 10 February 1992

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 121-116-129-131

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

 

Crystal Smith, better known by her stage name Dimples D, burst onto the chart in early 1991 with "Sucker DJ", which topped the chart for two weeks in March.  The I Dream of Jeannie theme-sampling track would become Dimples' only release to trouble the top 100 in Australia.

"Sisters Keep on Doin' It" was lifted from Dimples' only album Dimples & Spice, which was released in Australia in December 1991 but failed to chart.  This time, the "Peter Gunn Theme" forms the basis of the track, and Dimples D teamed up with Lady Spice, whose real name is Tawana Ramsey.

 

I hadn't heard this one before.  Vocally, it sounds quite different to me than "Sucker DJ" - I can't even really identify Dimples D's voice on it; though maybe that's because the vocals for "Sucker DJ" were recorded in 1983 for the track's original release "Sucker D.J.'s (I Will Survive)", and she was younger then.

I cannot find evidence of "Sisters Keep on Doin' It" charting elsewhere.  On the state charts, "Sisters Keep on Doin' It" performed equally-strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory and Queensland, where it reached number 105 on both state charts.

 

 

Number 131 "Just Another Girlfriend" by Hi-Five

Peak: number 107

Peak date: 10 February 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 131-107-120-127-119

We last saw American R&B vocal quintet Hi-Five in 1991.

"Just Another Girlfriend" was issued as the third (in Australia) and final single from the group's debut album Hi-Five (number 102, July 1991).

 

Internationally, "Just Another Girlfriend" peaked at number 88 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in November 1991.

I don't normally care much for this sort of music, but found this track OK.

 

Hi-Five will next join us in 1993.

Number 141 "Rockwell Street" by Colour Blue

Peak: number 102

Peak dates: 24 February 1992 and 2 March 1992

Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 141-133-107-102-102-127-129-(out for 1 week)-150

Colour Blue were an Australian group who only released two singles.  Their debut release "Peace" (number 82, July 1991) dented the lower region of the ARIA top 100.

It sounds to me like Colour Blue were a couple of years ahead of their time.  This track could have done better on the Australian chart had it been released in 1994-5, when R&B was gaining popularity locally.

Number 147 "Work That Magic" by Donna Summer

Peak: number 147

Peak date: 3 February 1992

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 147

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

Donna Summer, born LaDonna Gaines, commenced her chart career in Australia in 1976 with "Love to Love You Baby" (number 4, April 1976).  Between then and 1992, she placed a further 19 singles on the Australian chart, with "I Feel Love" (number 1, October 1977) and "Hot Stuff" (number 1, July 1979) topping the chart.

Donna's last real hit in Australia was the Stock Aitken Waterman-produced "This Time I Know It's for Real" (number 40, October 1989), which took seven months to reach its eventual modest peak, after debuting at number 150 in March 1989.  She followed that up with "Love's About to Change My Heart" (number 71, November 1989), also from the Stock Aitken Waterman-produced album Another Place and Time (number 93, September 1989).

 

In the interim, Donna placed a compilation album outside the top 100 in Australia with The Best of Donna Summer (number 124, February 1991).  A remixed version of "Breakaway", from Another Place and Time, was released as a single to promote the compilation in Europe, but not in Australia.  It's a pity, because I really like the single version of that song!

 

"Work That Magic" was the second single lifted from Donna's fifteenth studio album Mistaken Identity, which was released in Australia in November 1991 but failed to chart.  It followed "When Love Cries" (released in Australia in October 1991, did not chart), which was released with no accompanying music video, owing to Donna's sister Andrea dying around this time.

Internationally, "Work That Magic" peaked at number 74 in the UK in November 1991.

Domestically, "Work That Magic" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 136.

I didn't hear this one until a couple of years ago, but really like it.  I think it could have become a hit if Donna was able to promote it effectively.

As you probably know, we lost Donna in 2012 aged 63, from lung cancer - an illness that also claimed the lives of her mother and sister.

We shall next see Donna in 1997.  Before then, Donna had another compilation peak outside the top 100 in Australia, with The Donna Summer Anthology (number 144, January 1994).

 

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 152 "Places That Belong to You" by Barbra Streisand

Peak: number 152

Peak date: 3 February 1992

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

We last saw Barbra Streisand in 1989. 

"Places That You Belong To" was a track recorded for the soundtrack to the movie The Prince of Tides, which Babs directed herself as well as starred in.

While that soundtrack missed the ARIA top 150, Babs had a recent compilation album that peaked outside the top 100: Just for the Record (number 126, November 1991).

 

Internationally, "Places That You Belong To" peaked at number 17 in the UK in March 1992, and at number 29 in Ireland during the same month.

 

Locally, "Places That You Belong To" 'belonged' most in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 141.

 

Barbra will next join us in 1993.

 

 

Number 161 "Six O'Clock" by The Tyrrel Corporation

Peak: number 161

Peak date: 3 February 1992

Weeks on chart: 1 week

English duo The Tyrrel Corporation were made up of Joe Watson and Tony Barry.  "Six O'Clock" was the pair's debut release, lifted from their album North East of Eden (number 273, December 1992).

 

Internationally, "Six O'Clock" peaked at number 101 (number 90 on the compressed chart) in the UK in November 1991.

 

In Australia, "Six O'Clock" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 137 on the state chart.

 

The Tyrrel Corporation would go on to have a couple of other charting singles in Australia, though none would dent the top 150.  I wasn't aware of the group until about a decade ago, when one of their songs turned up on a music video compilation I'd bought.  I like the combination of soulful vocals and dance music on this track.

 

We'll next see The Tyrrel Corporation in May 1992.

Number 162 "The Air You Breathe" by Bomb the Bass

Peak: number 162

Peak date: 3 February 1992

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

Bomb the Bass last graced our presence in 1991.

"The Air You Breathe" was issued as the third single from the second Bomb the Bass album Unknown Territory (number 172, September 1991).  Internationally, the single peaked at number 52 in the UK in November 1991, and number 54 in the Netherlands in December 1991.

 

Within Australia, "The Air You Breathe" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 138.

 

This would be the final Bomb the Bass single to peak outside the top 100 in Australia, although their third album Clear peaked at number 122 in May 1995.   Two later Bomb the Bass singles released locally that failed to chart were "Keep Giving Me Love" (September 1992) and "1 to 1 Religion" (June 1995).

 

 

Number 164 "Keep It Together" by Madonna

Peak: number 158

Peak date: 6 December 1993

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

 

We last saw Madonna in 1991. 

"Keep It Together" was one of six singles (five in Australia) lifted from Madonna's fourth studio album Like a Prayer (number 4, March 1989).  The track was given a Soul II Soul-esque remix from the album version for single release, and issued as a single in North America and Japan.  "Keep It Together" was not originally released in Europe or Australasia, other than as the double A-side of "Vogue" (number 1, April 1990).

 

Despite not having a music video (the one embedded below is fan-made), "Keep It Together" peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in March 1990, and at number 8 in Canada in April 1990.

"Keep It Together" was one among a bunch of earlier Madonna singles released on CD single format in Australia in July 1991.  I am not sure what spurred it to eventually chart almost seven months later, but here we are...

"Keep It Together" in its own right did not peak in Australia until December 1993, amid the frenzy accompanying Madonna's first tour of Australia, with The Girlie Show.  Spoiler alert: a couple of earlier Madonna singles will also re-chart (lowly) in the last few months of 1993.

 

On the ARIA state charts, "Keep It Together" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 105.  The single peaked in 1992 in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory and Queensland, and in 1993 on the remaining state charts.

 

Madonna will next join us in 1993.

Next week (10 February): Seven top 150 debuts and two bubbling WAY down under entries.

< Previous week: 27 January 1992                       Next week: 10 February 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 6 March 1989

Sometimes, a new act looks like they're going to become the next big thing.  Other times, an act who looks like they're destined to become a one-hit-wonder turn out to have a more-enduring career, even if the immediate follow-ups aren't as successful.  'Success' is a relative term, and this week we see both types of acts among the new entries, as well as one act tempting fate by naming their single 'Success', and another titling their flop single 'The Big One'.  Oh, the irony!  We also see a future recording star who went on to considerable success getting her first break as a back-up dancer... in one of this week's new entries!

Black: looking more like 'White'.

 

Top 150 debuts:

Number 113 "Get Up Everybody (Get Up)"/"Twist and Shout" by Salt 'N' Pepa

Peak: number 111

Peak date: 13 March 1989

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks 

Known chart run: 163-113-111-118-126-113

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

This double A-side single became Salt 'N' Pepa's second top five hit in the UK, but in Australia, it became their first release to miss the top 100.  It seemed, to me, as though Salt 'N' Pepa were destined to become one-hit wonders in Australia, with "Push It" (number 3, October 1988) - of course, that was proved wrong in 1991.  I caught their cover of "Twist and Shout" on rage a couple of times in early 1989, while waiting for the top 50 chart rundown to begin, but didn't hear the other A-side until the early 2010s.  Anastacia, who would go on to have her own recording career, got an early break as one of the female backing dancer ensemble in the video - you'll be able to spot her with her trademark glasses on.

Internationally, "Get Up Everybody (Get Up)"/"Twist and Shout" peaked at number 4 in the UK in November 1988, number 18 in Ireland in November 1988, number 5 in the Netherlands in December 1988, number 11 in the Flanders region of Belgium in January 1989, and number 37 in Germany in January 1989.  In the US, both tracks charted separately on the Bilboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, with "Get Up..." reaching number 14 in December 1988, and "Twist and Shout" reaching number 45 in February 1989.  "Get Up..." also peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in December 1988.  Both tracks also registered on the Billboard Dance Singles Sales chart, with "Get Up..." reaching number 8 in January 1989 and "Twist and Shout" reaching number 18 in February 1989.

Within Australia, the "Get Up Everybody (Get Up)"/"Twist and Shout" AA-side single performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 75.

We will see Salt 'N' Pepa again in 1990.

 

Number 123 "The Big One" by Black

Peak: number 123

Peak dates: 6 March 1989 and 27 March 1989

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 123-136-126-123-139-132

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

Colin Vearncombe, aka Black, scored a decent-sized, belated hit in Australia in 1988 with "Wonderful Life" (number 7, May 1988).  Other, earlier-released overseas singles "Sweetest Smile" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses" failed to give Black a second hit down under when issued after the success of "Wonderful Life".

This track, the lead single from Black's second album, Comedy, peaked outside the top 50 in the UK, and was another to miss the top 100 in Australia.  A 'big one' it wasn't.

Locally, "The Big One" was 'biggest' in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 78.

Colin was sadly killed in a car accident in Cork, Ireland in January 2016, aged 53.

Black will join us again in 1993.

 

Number 144 "Baby Baby" by Eighth Wonder

Peak: number 113

Peak date: 27 March 1989

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 144-144-129-113-118-131-126-123-129

Weeks on chart: 11 weeks

Eighth Wonder returned to the top 150 with their third single, after we saw the second debut back in January.  This track was another Pete Hammond production for PWL, the record label owned by Pete Waterman of Stock Aitken Waterman.  Unlike the first two singles, which reached the top 15 in the UK, this one stalled at number 65 in the band's homeland... and that was pretty much it for Patsy Kensit's singing career.

On the state charts, "Baby Baby" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 73.

 

Number 145 "Success" by Sigue Sigue Sputnik

Peak: number 141

Peak date: 20 March 1989

Weeks in top 150: 3 weeks

Chart run: 177-145-(off chart for 1 week)-141-146

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

Speaking of Stock Aitken Waterman, this track saw the unlikely pairing of the trio with the punk-looking Sigue Sigue Sputnik.  The single sleeve jovially changed the band's name to Sputnik Aitken Waterman.  Several SAW-produced acts, such as Kylie and Rick Astley, and non-SAW acts, such as Bros and... Gary Glitter make cameos in the video.  Not that any of this helped the band score a hit, really, as the single stalled at number 31 in the group's native UK in November 1988, and just scraped into the top 150 locally.

On the state charts, "Success" had a lot more 'success' in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 57, than anywhere else.  The single peaked outside the top 100 on the other four state charts.

Number 146 "Shout (Parts 1 & 2)" by Johnny O'Keefe

Peak: number 146

Peak date: 6 March 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week (in 1989) 

Top 150 chart run: 146

Someone reading this may know, but I'm not entirely sure why this 30 year-old track re-charted in 1989.

Update: A reader has kindly reminded me that Channel 9 had a station promo running around this time that featured a re-recorded version of 'Shout'.  That's presumably why this was re-issued and re-charted... which seems a very 'British' thing to have happen!

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 152 "This Illusion" by Schnell Fenster

Peak: number 152

Peak date: 6 March 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

 

Melbourne band Schnell Fenster, which is German for 'fast window', are made up of former members of Split Enz and The Swingers - i.e. they are all actually Kiwis!

 

"This Illusion" was the band's third single, lifted from their debut album Sound of Trees (number 82, October 1988).  It followed "Whisper" (number 56, August 1988) and "Love Hate Relationship" (number 83, November 1988).  The band never landed a top 50 hit in Australia.

 

We shall next see Schnell Fenster in 1991.

 

 

 

Number 157 "The Price of Love (The R & B '89 Remix)" by Bryan Ferry

Peak: number 157

Peak date: 6 March 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

 

At this point, Bryan Ferry had landed 13 solo singles on the Australian chart, and 10 with his former band Roxy Music.  His biggest solo hit in Australia was "Let's Stick Together (Let's Work Together)", which reached number 1 for two weeks in November 1976.

A remix of "Let's Stick Together", released to promote The Ultimate Collection (number 9, December 1988), peaked at number 38 in Australia in December 1988.  This remix of "The Price of Love", not on the aforementioned compilation album, was issued as the follow-up release.

The original version of "The Price of Love" peaked at number 9 in Australia in November 1976.

Internationally, the 1989 remix of "The Price of Love" peaked at number 49 in the UK in February 1989, and number 30 in Ireland during the same month.

We will next see Bryan in 1993.

Also:

It's not a single peaking outside the top 150, but I'm sure that most people would be shocked know that Madonna's new single, "Like a Prayer" debuted at number 164 this week, before climbing to number 3 the following week and then going on to reach number one.  I can only assume that the low debut is due to the single being available in limited retail outlets, for one day of sales, before the survey this week's chart was based on closed.

 

Next week (13 March): A bumper edition, with nine new entries peaking within the 101-150 region of the chart, and three bubbling WAY down under debuts.

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