Week commencing 1 July 1991

Well, we're now exactly at the mid-way point through 1991.  And what better way to mark this milestone than with one of the most hotly-anticipated songs (for me) I have had to write about so far!  Read on to find out more...

Samantha Fox: just because you're laughing (at the song title), doesn't mean that it'll be charting!

Top 150 debuts:

Number 125 "Ludi" by Dream Warriors

Peak: number 117

Peak date: 8 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 125-117-122-128-131

Canadian hip-hop duo Dream Warriors to date had placed two singles in the lower half of the ARIA top 100, with "Wash Your Face in My Sink" (number 57, January 1991) and "My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style" (number 65, March 1991).

"Ludi" was issued as the third single from the duo's debut album And Now the Legacy Begins (number 53, March 1991).  "Ludi" peaked at number 56 in Dream Warriors' native Canada - oddly, their only single to chart there.  Elsewhere, the single peaked at number 39 in the UK in March 1991, number 24 in Ireland, and number 48 in the Netherlands in March 1991.

I don't recall hearing this one before.  "Ludi" was Dream Warriors' final single to dent the ARIA top 150.

 

Number 127 "Silent Lucidity" by Queensrÿche

Peak: number 104

Peak date: 14 October 1991

Weeks in top 150: 16 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 127-125-120-113-117-119-122-127-125-(out for 2 weeks)-149-147-106-110-104-115-128

Weeks on chart: 24 weeks

American progressive metal band Queensrÿche last paid us a visit in October 1990.  "Silent Lucidy" was the second single issued in Australia from the band's fourth studio album Empire (number 127, November 1990).

"Silent Lucidity" peaked at number 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1991, becoming their biggest hit there and only top 100 entry.  The single also peaked at number 46 in Germany in June 1991, number 21 in the Netherlands in June 1991, number 24 in Switzerland in June 1991, number 11 in New Zealand in July 1991, and number 18 in the UK in August 1992 (after originally peaking at number 34 there in May 1991).

 

"Silent Lucidity" performed much stronger on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart, where it reached number 21, than elsewhere.  Its next-highest state chart peak was number 69, in Western Australia.  It peaked outside the top 100 on the remaining three state charts.  "Silent Lucidity" also peaked higher on the Australian Music Report singles chart, reaching number 74.

"Silent Lucidity" would become Queensrÿche's last single to dent the ARIA top 150.  The band's 1994 album Promised Land (number 79, November 1994) peaked within the ARIA top 100, however.

Despite missing the ARIA top 100, "Silent Lucidity" holds a three-way tie in third position for the most weeks spent in the top 150 for a 1991-debuting single that missed the top 100.  Its 16-week top 150 chart-run ties with Chesney Hawkes and another single we will see in October 1991.  "Silent Lucidity" was still charting at the end of October 1991; its top 150 chart run was broken for two weeks in early September.

I have heard this one before, but can never remember how the song goes.  It seems that metal acts were scoring their last breath of commercial success around this time by putting out ballads or acoustic tracks that were less typical of their usual sound.

Queensrÿche will join us again in 1992.

Number 134 "Heroes Let You Down" by Schnell Fenster

Peak: number 132

Peak date: 5 August 1991

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Chart run: 134-150-141-141-145-132

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

Schnell Fenster, which translates from German as 'fast window', was a band formed in Melbourne, made up of New Zealanders.  All but one of the five members of Schnell Fenster had formerly been in Split Enz or The Swingers.  We last saw Schnell Fenster in 1989.

 

Despite the band's pedigree, Schnell Fenster failed to achieve major commercial success in Australia with none of their releases denting the ARIA top 50.  Their debut single, "Whisper" (number 56, August 1988), came nearest, with subsequent singles "Love Hate Relationship" (number 83, November 1988) and "OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah" (number 88, October 1990) languishing in the 80s.  The group's debut album Sound of Trees (number 82, October 1988) followed similarly.

"Heroes Let You Down" was the belated second single from Schnell Fenster's second album OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah (number 117, July 1991), coming nine months after the title track was released.  "Heroes Let You Down" was to be the band's final single, with the group splitting in 1992.

While "OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah" seemed to receive a moderate amount of radio and TV exposure, I do not recall hearing "Heroes Let You Down" before.

Number 140 Some Like It Hot EP by Marilyn Monroe

Peak: number 140

Peak date: 1 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 140

American actress, singer and model Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson, needs no introduction.  But Marilyn as a chart star?!

The title track on this EP, "Some Like It Hot", was recorded in 1959, for the movie of the same name.  I am not sure why this EP was released in 1991.  To confuse matters further, "Some Like It Hot" is track three on the single, with two mixes of "I Wanna Be Loved by You" - the 'Mr President Mix' and the original, appearing before it.  Given that "I Wanna Be Loved by You" has been remixed for this release, I assume it was actually the main/promoted track from the EP, rather than "Some Like It Hot", and have listed it first below.  "I Wanna Be Loved by You" also originally appeared in the 1959 film Some Like It Hot.

As far as I can establish, this EP was an Australian-only release.

Of course, Marilyn sadly took her own life in 1962, aged 36.

Number 147 "(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!) But the Pants Stay On" by Samantha Fox

Peak: number 123

Peak date: 22 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Chart run: 167-147-149-124-123-143-144

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

From one blonde bombshell to another, English singer Samantha Fox came to fame as a page 3 topless model for The Sun newspaper at a tender 16 years of age.  While launching a singing career a few years later might seem like a cynical move, Sam had always had her sights set on becoming a pop star, and even had her own pre-fame flop band S.F.X., who released the single "Rockin' with My Radio" in 1983.

Sam's solo career proper was launched in 1986 with the raunchy "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)", which topped the Australian singles chart for three non-consecutive weeks in July 1986, interrupted by Whitney Houston's - who we saw last week - "Greatest Love of All".  On "Touch Me...", Sam displays her rock vocal prowess, which is not the paper-thin voice that can barely hold a note (not that there's anything wrong with that) you might expect from a model-turned-singer.

 

Between 1986 and 1989, Samantha notched up eight Australian top 100 singles.  While nothing matched the massive success of "Touch Me...", Sam had two further top 20 hits in Australia, and the Stock Aitken Waterman-produced "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" (number 22, August 1987) narrowly missed out.

The saucy song titles continued, as did the brackets, with subsequent hits "Do Ya Do Ya (Wanna Please Me)" (number 18, October 1986) and "Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)" (number 64, June 1988) - the latter becoming Sam's biggest hit in the US, reaching number 3 there in June 1988.

 

A surprising fact is that Samantha was the only British female solo artist to score three top 10 singles in the UK and US during the 1980s - with five different tracks among those, no less.  Not bad for an artist whom many inaccurately label a "one hit wonder" (not that there's anything wrong with being one of those!).

As this is probably the only occasion I will get to write about Sam, I thought I would mention some of my favourite flop singles of hers, in case you haven't head them - "I Surrender (To the Spirit of the Night)" (released in Australia in August 1987, did not chart) and "I Promise You (Get Ready)" (not issued as a single in Australia, but peaked at number 58 in the UK in October 1987), both from her second album Samantha Fox (number 86, August 1987).

Issued as the lead single from her fourth studio album Just One Night (number 167, August 1991), "(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!) But the Pants Stay On" surely has the sauciest song title of all among Sam's catalogue.  However, the song was intended to be a safe-sex anthem, released during the peak of the AIDS epidemic, about not immediately jumping into bed with someone who fancies you, with lyrics like "you can want my body all night long, but the pants stay on" and "my reputation says I'm not one for hesitation, but when it comes to sex, I'm very, very patient".  Ooh er Missus!

The intended message of "Hurt Me..." was lost in the racy song title, with people assuming it was a song about sadomasochism.  The "(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!)" part of the title, however, is a crowd chant heard in the clubs back then, kind of meaning 'play that song Mr. DJ!'  But when coupled with "but the pants stay on",  it's easy to see why the song's message was obscured.

For "Hurt Me...", Sam teamed up with Full Force, who were behind her post-"Touch Me" American top 10 hits "Naughty Girls..." and "I Wanna Have Some Fun" (number 80, July 1989).  The production on "Hurt Me..." sounds to me like they were trying to emulate the C + C Music Factory sound, and I actually thought C + C Music Factory were involved until checking the credits for this post.

While I distinctly recall reading about "Hurt Me..." in pop magazines at the time, and I think the title even got a mention on Fox FM in Melbourne (which didn't play any non-'credible' female pop at all in 1991), I did not hear "Hurt Me..." until downloading the track out of curiosity in the early 2000s.  While I like the song, it doesn't quite live up to its title.

 

Sam's previous album I Wanna Have Some Fun (number 151, March 1989) had indeed been 'fun', but the album "Hurt Me..." is from, Just One Night, is just... awful, and was a huge misstep in Sam's career.  The 2012 expanded re-issue of Just One Night was partly salvaged by inclusion of a spruced up demo Sam recorded for the album with Stock Aitken Waterman, "That's What Love Can Do", which went on to become a US top 20 hit for Boy Krazy, who we will see in 1993.

Oddly, Australia was the only country "Hurt Me..." charted in that I can verify.  The single performed strongest on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart, where it reached number 102.

A second single from Just One Night, "Another Woman (Too Many People)", was released in Australia in September 1991, but failed to chart.  Sam then did not release a single in Australia again until 1997, with "Let Me Be Free", which also did not chart.

 

"(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!) But the Pants Stay On" would be Samantha's final single to chart in Australia.  She would, however, have a further album register on the ARIA albums chart, with Angel with an Attitude (number 476, August 2007).

Samantha recently married her girlfriend of six years, Linda Olsen.

Number 148 "California Dreamin" by The Midnight Shift featuring Robin Wright and Issy Van Randwyck

Peak: number 134

Peak date: 29 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 148-137-146-143-134-139

"California Dreamin'" (note apostrophe) was written by John and Michelle Phillips, from The Mamas and the Papas - who were Chynna Phillips from Wilson Phillips' actual mama and papa - in 1963.  The song was first recorded by Barry McGuire.  The Mamas and the Papas' own version, however, is the best-known one, and was released in 1965.

The Midnight Shift appear to be a British act, but their version of "California Dreamin" - minus the apostrophe - appears to have only been released on CD single in Australia, with only 12" vinyl UK and Spanish pressings listed on discogs.  The wonderfully (?) cheap video embedded below was on an Australian VHS compilation designed for play in nightclubs and retail outlets that I picked up on eBay last year for a silly price.  Yes, I sometimes go to great lengths for these chart recaps...

This single performed better on the Australian Music Report singles chart, where it reached number 94.

Number 149 "Yo!! Sweetness" by MC Hammer

Peak: number 149

Peak date: 1 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Known chart run: 152-149

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

Stanley Burrell, better known as MC Hammer, burst onto the Australian chart in 1990 with the lead single from his second album "U Can't Touch This", which was number 1 for five weeks in July and August 1990.  The follow-up release "Have You Seen Her" (number 42, September 1990), however, stalled outside the top 40.  "Pray" (number 8, January 1991) returned MC Hammer to the top 10, but fourth single "Here Comes the Hammer" (number 37, April 1991) just crept into the top 40.

 

"Yo!! Sweetness" was released as the fifth and final single from Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em (number 5, August 1990) in Australia.  While I remember seeing the single in the shops, I did not hear the track at the time, and it barely crept into the ARIA top 150.  By mid-1991, Hammer, together with pop-rap rival Vanilla Ice, seemed to be a bit passe and uncool.

Internationally, "Yo!! Sweetness" peaked at number 16 in the UK in June 1991, and number 11 in Ireland.  The track was not released as a commercial single in North America.

 

On the state charts, "Yo!! Sweetness" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 111.

The music video for "Yo!! Sweetness", embedded below, uses the LP version of the track, but the single version, both here and in Europe, was the Boilerhouse Radio Mix, which I have embedded beneath it.  The Boilerhouse Mix of "Yo!! Sweetness" prominently samples Cameo's "Word Up" (number 6, March 1987), while both versions sample Rick James' "Give It to Me Baby" (which oddly did not chart in Australia).

We will next see MC Hammer in October 1991.

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 200 "Down to Earth" by Monie Love

Peak: number 152

Peak date: 8 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

British rapper Monie Love, born Simone Johnson, made her debut on the Australian chart in 1989 with "Grandpa's Party" (number 93, September 1989).  She followed it up over a year later with another minor hit, "It's a Shame (My Sister)" (number 90, February 1991); interim single "Monie in the Middle" (released in Australia in August 1990) failed to chart.  Monie's biggest Australian hit came next, with "Ring My Bell" (number 35, May 1991), a duet with Adeva.

 

"Down to Earth", the title track from Monie's debut album Down to Earth (number 114, July 1991), was released overseas in late 1990, before "Ring My Bell".  The single's release, for whatever reason, was pushed back in Australia.

 

Internationally, "Down to Earth" peaked at number 31 in the UK in December 1990, number 33 in Germany in January 1991, number 15 in Switzerland in February 1991, and number 29 in the Netherlands in March 1991.

 

Within Australia, "Down to Earth" was most-successful on the New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory state chart, where it reached number 136.

 

Of note is that "Down to Earth" is the earliest single I have a number 200 or below position for, at the time of writing this post.

 

We will next see Monie in 1992.

Next week (8 July): Six top 150 debuts and four bubbling WAY down under entries.  Among them is a song that dented the top 50 back in 1986.

< Previous week: 24 June 1991                                         Next week: 8 July 1991 >

Week commencing 22 October 1990

The nine new top 150-peaking entries this week cover all bases.  Everything from metal to hip-hop to radio station themes to rock ballads to... opera is there.  Shall we take a look?

 

Sam Brown: the hits suddenly 'stopped'.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 108 "Nessun Dorma" by Luciano Pavarotti

Peak: number 108

Peak dates: 22 October 1990 and 29 October 1990

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 108-108-118-113-118-109

 

Best known - to me, anyway - as one of The Three Tenors, Italian operatic tenor Pavarotti's greatest success in Australia came on the albums chart, where he landed two number ones in 1990 and 1994, alongside José Carreras and Placido Domingo.

When it came to the singles chart, however, it was a different story, and the only single Pavarotti landed on the Australian top 100 was as a guest vocalist on U2 side project Passengers' "Miss Sarajevo" (number 7, December 1995).

 

"Nessun Dorma", which translates from Italian as "let no-one sleep", is an aria from the opera Turandot.  Pavarotti famously performed "Nessun Dorma" at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, leading to the song becoming known to a wider audience outside of opera-appreciating circles.

 

Pavarotti's version of "Nessun Dorma" reached number 2 in the UK in June 1990, and number 4 in Ireland.  Following Pavarotti's death from pancreatic cancer at age 71 in 2007, "Nessun Dorma" peaked at number 12 in the UK, number 7 in Ireland, and also hit the top 40 in the Netherlands and Switzerland.  While the song may not have technically been a hit in Australia, its climactic ending is surely familiar to many more people than its number 108 peak would suggest.

To me, Pavarotti is the kind of music you might hear while browsing in a furniture store, or while waiting to get your hair cut at an Italian barber's (at least, that was my experience in the 1990s).

 

We will next see Pavarotti bubble under as part of The Three Tenors in 1994.

 

 

Number 129 "Stranded" by Heart
Peak: number 120

Peak date: 19 November 1990

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 129-132-126-124-120

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

American band Heart's career can be broadly split into two eras: the 1970s, when they were a hard rock/metal band, and the 1980s/90s, when their music was slickly produced soft rock.  The band, fronted by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, achieved success in both eras, although were bigger in their second incarnation.

 

Up until this point, Heart had placed 12 singles on the Australian top 100, with three of those reaching the top 10: "Magic Man" (number 6, March 1977), "Alone" (number 6, August 1987) and "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" (number 1, June 1990).  Three of my favourite Heart singles that were US top 10 hits but didn't do quite as well on the Australian charts are "What About Love" (number 28, December 1985), "Never" (number 48, February 1986) and "These Dreams" (number 27, May 1986).

"Stranded" was the third single lifted from Heart's tenth studio album Brigade (number 11, June 1990).  It followed "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" and "I Didn't Want To Need You" (number 64, July 1990).  Ann sang lead on the majority of Heart's singles, but "Stranded" is one where Nancy sings lead vocals, as she did on "These Dreams" and their 1993 single "Will You Be There (In the Morning)" (number 24, March 1994).

Internationally, "Stranded" peaked at number 60 in the UK in November 1990, and number 13 in the US in December 1990.  On the state ARIA charts, "Stranded" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 92.

 

I don't believe I had actually heard "Stranded" before viewing the video to write this post, though I saw the single in the shops.  I remember at the time finding it odd how little promotion the singles from Brigade received in Australia following the number one success of "All I Wanna Do...".   While I heard "I Didn't Want To Need You" on the radio a couple of times in 1990, I didn't see the video until... linking it in this post!

 

During this era, Ann's physique was deemed 'unmarketable' by the band's record label, and all of the shots of her in the videos from Brigade are from the neck up.  In a video podcast interview from earlier this year, Ann details the impact body-shaming from the media had on her during the height of Heart's commercial success, leading to her developing anxiety and stage fright.

 

A fourth single from Brigade, "Secret", was released in Australia in March 1991, but failed to chart.  Again, it received zero promotion, and I had not heard it before now.

 

We shall next see Heart in 1994.

Number 130 "Once in Your Life" by Sam Brown

Peak: number 125

Peak dates: 5 November 1990 and 12 November 1990

Weeks in top 150: 11 weeks

Chart run: 130-133-125-125-128-138-136-130-131-(chart repeated for 2 week Xmas break)

Weeks on chart: 11 weeks

Since her debut single "Walking Back to Me" was released in Australia in April 1988 (did not chart), English singer-songwriter Sam Brown placed four singles within the ARIA top 100, with her biggest hit being "Stop!" (number 4, May 1989).  We also saw Sam bubble under back in September 1989.

"Once in Your Life" was the third single issued from Sam's second album April Moon (number 30, July 1990) in Australia.  It followed "With a Little Love" (number 27, June 1990) and "Kissing Gate" (number 89, August 1990).

For reasons I do not know, "Once in Your Life" was not released as a single in Sam's native UK, despite a music video being filmed for the song.  Instead, "Mindworks" was issued as the third single from the album there, where it peaked at number 77 in July 1990.  "Mindworks" was released as the fourth and final single from April Moon in Australia in February 1991, but failed to chart.  One interesting thing about the "Mindworks" music video, if you have not seen it before, is how similar parts of it are to Kylie Minogue's "Put Yourself in My Place" video, recorded four years later.

"Once in Your Life" was issued as a single in continental Europe, though Australia is the only country where it charted.  On the ARIA state charts, "Once in Your Life" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 83.  The single also made the top 100 in Western Australia, where it peaked at number 94.

One thing I fondly remember about "Once in Your Life" is the group-singalong-in-the-rain part towards the end of the music video, with Sam bursting into laughter just before the video fades to black.

Following April Moon, Sam parted ways with her record company A&M Records.  Her next album, 1993's 43 Minutes (number 132, June 1993), was released independently.  We shall see Sam bubble under with a single from it in 1993, but before then, a duet with Black (who we saw bubble under in March 1989), "Fly Up to the Moon" - complete with a claymation video, was released in Australia in October 1991, but failed to chart.

Number 139 "Doowutchyalike" by Digital Underground

Peak: number 139

Peak date: 22 October 1990

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 139

 

American hip-hop group Digital Underground are categorised as alternative hip-hop, according to their Wikipedia article.  Not knowing what "alternative" hip-hop meant, I read further that it is rap music that does not conform to the conventional styles of rap such as hardcore or gangsta, and that it may also incorporate elements of pop, jazz, soul, reggae, or folk.  The first examples of alternative hip-hop I could think of after reading that description were De La Soul, P.M. Dawn and Gang Starr, who were less-concerned with rap clichés such as boasting about how good you are or who you're going to kill...

"Doowutchyalike" was Digital Underground's second single, and their first Australian release.  The single did not register on the US Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 29 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in August 1990, and number 20 on the Billboard Dance chart in September 1990 - neither of which is a 'real' chart if you ask me.  Elsewhere, "Doowutchyalike" reached number 79 in the UK in September 1989.  It is interesting that it charted nearly a year earlier in the UK than in the group's homeland.

Digital Underground would score a much bigger hit with their following single in the US, "The Humpty Dance" (US number 11, June 1990), but this missed the ARIA top 150 when issued locally in November 1990.

Digital Underground's biggest 'hit' in Australia would come when "Kiss You Back" reached number 97 in March 1992.

 

 

Number 141 "Dr. Dan's Theme" by Dieter Kleeman

Peak: number 126

Peak date: 29 October 1990

Weeks in top 150: 3 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 141-126-131

 

This song, which is credited as "Doctor Dan's Theme" on the single sleeve and "Dr. Dan's Theme" on the record label and rear sleeve (don't ya love that?), served as the 'theme' song for the Australian radio station Triple M.  That being said, although I listened to some Triple M back in the day (mainly for the Top 8 at 8 countdown in 1989-90), I had completely forgotten about this theme song, and only the whispered "triple M" parts really remained in my consciousness.  I'm sure it will ring a bell to those who were regular Triple M listeners in the early 90s, though.

Another point of confusion - Dieter Kleeman's name should really be Dieter Kleemann.  It has been misspelt with only one N on the single sleeve and record label.

 

"Dr. Dan's Theme" peaked at number 99 on the Australian Music Report singles chart.

 

I reached out to Dieter to obtain a copy of this track (embedded below), as only the 1981 and 1984 versions were on YouTube - so thank you Dieter!

December 2021 update: I have found the music video!  Now embedded below.

 

Number 144 "Bonita Applebum" by A Tribe Called Quest

Peak: number 144

Peak date: 22 October 1990

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 144

American hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest formed in 1985.  "Bonita Applebum" was their first single issued in Australia, lifted from their debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.

 

Following in the footsteps of Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls" (number 25, December 1978) and preceding Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back" (number 8, August 1992), "Bonita Applebum" was a song about the appreciation of... women with amply-sized derrieres.

 

While the original version of "Bonita Applebum" is uploaded on the band's official YouTube channel, the single version of "Bonita Applebum" in Europe and Australasia, which I have embedded below, features a prominent sample of Carly Simon's "Why".  Despite being written and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, and sounding like something of an early 1980s classic now, "Why" somehow did not chart at all when issued in Australia in August 1982.  "Why" was a number 10 hit in the UK in October 1982, however.  Coincidentally, Carly will join us next week.

"Bonita Applebum" missed the US Billboard Hot 100, but registered on the following Billboard dubious charts: number 28 on Dance Singles Sales in May 1997 (I'm not sure why this charted 7 years later), number 58 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in October 1990, and number 4 on Hot Rap Songs in October 1990.  As to what some of these charts even reflect - your guess is as good as mine.

Elsewhere, "Bonita Applebum" charted at number 47 in the UK in August 1990; a real, sales-based chart.

 

For some reason, I always mentally associate "Bonita Applebum" with Christina Applegate, as though the song's title was a cute nickname for her or something - even though her figure (I didn't know this at the time, because I pay little attention to US sitcoms) hardly resembles the women this song is an ode to.

To my surprise, A Tribe Called Quest never landed a top 100 entry - single or album - in Australia, until 2016 when the We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service album peaked at number 13 in November 2016.  During the same year, Phife Dawg (real name Malik Taylor) died in March, aged 45, following complications arising from diabetes.

 

Number 145 "Real Real Gone" by Van Morrison

Peak: number 117

Peak date: 7 January 1991

Weeks in top 150: 12 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 145-(out for 1 week)-135-142-132-126-132-124-125-(chart repeated for 2 week Xmas break)-117-124

Weeks on chart: 13 weeks

 

Van Morrison - whom we last saw in March 1990, is, in my mind, the kind of artist who has been around forever, who your uncle (back in the day) might have appreciated, and who could just drop an album out there, with no hit single accompanying it, and land in the top 10.  Yet, if pressed, you couldn't actually name one of his songs, right?  Well, OK, he did that "Gloria" (G-L-O-R-I-A!) song with his band Them in the 1960s, but you didn't know who actually sung that, or that he was involved.

 

"Real Real Gone" was the lead single from Van's (real name George Ivan Morrison) twentieth studio album Enlightenment (number 39, November 1990).  It was his first single since "Have I Told You Lately" (number 93, August 1989) to chart in Australia.  Although the song was written by Van for his 1980 album Common One, it was first recorded by Tom Fogerty as an album track for his 1981 album Deal It Out.

Internationally, "Real Real Gone" peaked at number 79 in Van's native UK (well, he's Northern Irish) in October 1990, and number 28 in Canada in February 1991.  On the more-dubious US Billboard charts, "Real Real Gone" peaked at number 18 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in December 1990, and number 34 on the Adult Contemporary chart in January 1991.

 

On the state charts, "Real Real Gone" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 77.

Although it's not the sort of thing I'd normally listen to, I don't actually mind this track, hearing it now for the first time - perhaps it's because I'm now at that 'uncle who listens to music from the olden days' stage of my life...

Van will next bubble under in 1995.

 

Number 147 "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" by Double Trouble

Peak: number 147

Peak date: 22 October 1990

Weeks in top 150: 2 weeks

Chart run: 147-149

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

You might have guessed from the title that this track is a cover version of Rose Royce's "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" (number 10, July 1979), which is one of those songs that seems to be a standard to cover.  A few other covers of the song that immediately spring to mind are those by I'm Talking (number 21, October 1985), Jimmy Nail (UK number 3, May 1985), Madonna (number 27, June 1996), and Yazz (recorded for her 1997 covers album The Natural Life).

Despite the name, Double Trouble were actually a trio of dance music producers and remixers.  They scored a minor hit in Australia with "Street Tuff" (number 85, February 1990), featuring Rebel MC, whom we saw again last week, on vocals.  Pairing up again with Rebel MC, we saw Double Trouble bubble under previously in March 1990.

"Love Don't Live Here Anymore" featured the vocals of Janette Sewell, who sang back-up vocals on "Street Tuff".  Janette's backing vocal credits also include Simply Red's Men and Women album and The Beloved's Happiness album, among others.

In the UK, "Love Don't Live Anymore" peaked at number 21 in July 1990.  The single also reached number 29 in Ireland in July 1990, number 35 in Germany in September 1990, and number 11 in New Zealand in October 1990 (yet another example of the Kiwis being more evolved than us).

Tragically, one third of Double Trouble, Michael Menson, died in 1997, aged 30, succumbing to injuries two weeks after being set alight in a racially-motivated street attack.  Family and friends felt that the police did not adequately investigate the attack, treating Michael's death as though it was a suicide instsead.  Following campaigning and a public outcry, a fresh investigation team was assigned and one man was charged with murder in December 1999, and another with manslaughter.

This would be Double Trouble's final release to chart in Australia.

Number 150 "Empire" by Queensrÿche

Peak: number 150

Peak date: 22 October 1990

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Chart run: 150

Weeks on chart: 1 week

Queensrÿche (pronounced kweenz-rike) are an American heavy metal/hard rock band, formed in 1980.  "Empire" was the title track and lead single from their fourth studio album Empire (number 127, November 1990).  It was also the band's first single to chart in Australia.  An earlier album, Rage for Order, spent one week on the Kent Music Report top 100 albums chart in August 1986, at number 94.

Internationally, "Empire" peaked at number 61 in the UK in November 1990, and at number 22 on the questionable US Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in November 1990.

 

In Australia, "Empire" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 134.

 

The song deals with the subject matter of illicit drug trafficking in the United States, and the detrimental effect this has on society.  As of 2016, the band have played the song over 1,000 times at live concerts.

We will see Queensrÿche again in July 1991.

 

 

Next week (29 October): Another busy week, with eight top 150 debuts and four bubbling WAY down under entries.

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