Week commencing 29 June 1992

Before diving into this week in 1992's new entries peaking outside the ARIA top 100, I have updated a bunch of earlier posts:

 

* 31 July 1989 - with new bubbling WAY down under entry from Spirit of the Forest;

* 16 July 1990 - with new bubbling WAY down under entry from Pop Will Eat Itself;

* 6 August 1990 - with new bubbling WAY down under entry from Revenge;

* 20 August 1990 - with new bubbling WAY down under entry from Cameo;

* 21 October 1991 - with new bubbling WAY down under entry from Shabba Ranks featuring Maxi Priest;

* 23 March 1992 - with new bubbling WAY down under entry from Shabba Ranks featuring KRS-1.

 

Londonbeat: Australia wasn't really thinking about them in 1992.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 119 "Thrill Me" by Simply Red

Peak: number 109

Peak date: 20 July 1992

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks

Chart run: 193-119-110-114-109-119-116-120-125-149

Weeks on chart: 10 weeks

 

We last saw English band Simply Red at the end of 1989.

 

"Thrill Me" was issued as the fourth single from the band's fourth studio album Stars (number 7, April 1992), which was certified double-platinum in Australia, and was the highest-selling album of 1991 and 1992 in the UK.  It followed the singles "Something Got Me Started" (number 29, November 1991), "Stars" (number 29, March 1992) and "For Your Babies" (number 55, May 1992).

 

Internationally, "Thrill Me" peaked at number 33 in the UK in May 1992, number 30 in Ireland in May 1992, and number 58 in the Netherlands in June 1992.

 

Within Australia, "Thrill Me" was most popular in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 90 on the state chart.

 

Despite missing the ARIA top 100, "Thrill Me" spent seven consecutive weeks of its chart run in the top 120, which is not too bad for a single falling short of the top 100.

 

While I quite possibly have heard "Thrill Me" before, I don't think I have actually listened to it until writing this post.  It's not bad, though hardly a career highlight.

 

Simply Red will join us next in September 1992.

 

Number 130 "The Wild Life" by Slaughter

Peak: number 130

Peak date: 29 June 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Known chart run: 178-130-139-133-138-140

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

 

We last saw American glam metal band Slaughter in 1991.  Their style of music was really on its last legs commercially around this time in 1992.

"The Wild Life" was the lead single and title track from Slaughter's second studio album The Wild Life (number 95, June 1992).  Internationally, the single peaked at number 64 in the UK in May 1992.

Domestically, "The Wild Life" was most popular in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 103.

This was Slaughter's final charting release in Australia.

 

 

Number 139 Unexplained EP by EMF

Peak: number 136

Peak date: 6 July 1992

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 139-136-139-141-146-138

Weeks on chart: 10 weeks

 

English band EMF last graced our presence in 1991.

 

The Unexplained EP was the first new material EMF released following their debut album Schubert Dip (number 44, June 1991).  The EP was led by the track "Getting Through", for which the music video is embedded below.  "Getting Through" would later appear on the band's second studio album Stigma (number 143, November 1992).

Internationally, the Unexplained EP peaked at number 18 in the UK in April 1992, and number 16 in Ireland.

 

In Australia, the Unexplained EP performed strongest in South Autralia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 105.

 

I don't recall hearing "Getting Through" at the time, but remember seeing the EP reviewed in Smash Hits magazine.

 

We shall next see EMF in 1993.

 

 

Number 142 "You Bring on the Sun" by Londonbeat

Peak: number 135

Peak date: 20 July 1992

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks

Known chart run: 153-142-137-137-135

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

English band Londonbeat made their first appearance with a single peaking between number 101 and 150 in mid-1991.

 

"You Bring on the Sun" was issued as the lead single from Londonbeat's third studio album Harmony (number 181, November 1992).  Internationally, the single peaked at number 32 in the UK in June 1992, number 9 in Sweden in July 1992, number 9 in Norway, number 7 in the Netherlands in July 1992, number 3 in the Flanders region of Belgium in July 1992, number 10 in Austria in July 1992, number 26 in Germany in July 1992, and number 14 in Switzerland in August 1992.

In Australia, "You Bring on the Sun" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 87.

 

I caught the video for "You Bring on the Sun" as a new release on rage, and was surprised that it didn't do better on the charts here. 

It's hard to believe that Lononbeat's lead vocalist, Jimmy Helms, is now aged 82!  He was 49, not 44 as I had previously reported (I guess they knocked a few years off his age at the time), when "I've Been Thinking About You" topped the Australian singles chart in early 1991.  Maybe there's hope for me to have a successful pop career yet...

We shall next see Londonbeat in November 1992.

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 184 "Mr. Loverman" by Shabba Ranks

Peak: number 163

Peak date: 28 June 1993

Weeks on chart: 12 weeks

We last saw Jamaican dancehall artist Shabba Ranks in March 1992.

"Mr. Loverman" started out as the 1988 single "Champion Lover", recorded by English lovers rock singer Deborahe Glasgow.  Shabba then featured vocals from the song on the original version of "Mr. Loverman", appearing on his Rappin' with the Ladies album in 1990.  Deborahe passed away in January 1994, aged 28, following a cerebral haemorrhage resulting from lymphatic cancer.  Due to Glasgow's illness, the song was re-recorded with female vocals provided by Chevelle Franklin for its single release, which was remixed by David Morales.  This version was added to the second pressing of Shabba's 1992 album X-tra Naked (number 188, February 1993).  The song also appeared on the soundtrack of the 1992 movie Deep Cover.

 

Internationally, "Mr. Loverman" peaked at number 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in August 1992, and it initially peaked at number 23 in the UK in August 1992, before reaching a higher peak of number 3 in March 1993 when re-released.  The single also peaked at number 31 in Sweden in August 1992, number 21 in the Netherlands in September 1992, number 33 in the Flanders region of Belgium in October 1992, number 17 in Germany in November 1992, number 22 in Austria in November 1992, number 8 in Ireland in March 1993, and number 19 in France in July 1993.

 

"Mr. Loverman" also peaked at number 2 on the meaningless US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in July 1992, number 4 on the Hip-Hop/R&B Airplay chart in July 1992, number 2 on the Dance Singles Sales chart in July 1992, number 7 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Single Sales chart in July 1992, and number 55 on the Radio Songs chart in August 1992.

"Mr. Loverman" had quite a protracted chart run in Australia, despite its number 163 peak, which it reached a day shy of one year after it debuted at number 184.  In its twelve weeks spent on the ARIA singles chart, "Mr. Loveman" was charting in June of 1992, and January, March, June, July and August of 1993.

 

I first heard the song when seeing the video on a special Video Hits: Adults Only episode, which aired in the middle of the night during the Easter school holidays in April 1993, and I remember watching live.  I am not sure why the video was selected for that special - perhaps because it is meant to be 'sexy'?  Many of the other videos shown were more risqué.

 

On the state charts, "Mr. Loverman" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 106 in March 1993.

 

The "Shabba!" you hear on the track during the chorus is uttered by Maxi Priest, sampled from their 1991 collaboration "Housecall".

 

The drum pattern from "Mr. Loverman" was sampled on Alanis Morissette's "You Learn" (number 20, July 1996).

We shall next see Shabba in December 1992.

 

 

Number 189 "Controlling Me" by Oceanic

Peak: number 168

Peak date: 3 August 1992

Weeks on chart: 5 weeks

 

English electronic dance act Oceanic formed in Merseyside, and landed a number 3 hit in the UK with their debut single "Insanity" in September 1991, which peaked at number 31 in Australia in April 1992, almost five months after its debut at number 155 in November 1991.  Interestingly, "Insanity" performed much stronger in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 11, and Western Australia, where it reached number 14, than elsewhere.  They followed it up with "Wicked Love" (number 96, May 1992), which did not fare nearly as well.

"Controlling Me" was released as the third single from Oceanic's first, and only, album That Compact Disc by Oceanic (number 131, July 1992), which was titled That Album by Oceanic and That Cassette by Oceanic on the LP and cassette formats, respectively.  I remember seeing the CD (I was going to say album, but vinyl was pretty much dead in Australia, other than perhaps 12" singles for DJs, by this point in 1992) in a record store and thinking 'that's an interesting title'.

Internationally, "Controlling Me" peaked at number 14 in the UK in June 1992, and number 19 in Ireland in June 1992.

Domestically, "Controlling Me" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 134.

While "Controlling Me" would be Oceanic's final single released in Australia, they had one more minor chart 'hit' in the UK with "Ignorance" (UK number 72, November 1992), featuring Siobhan Maher on vocals.  I remember hearing the song on the UK Chart Attack radio show and liking it.

 

 

Next week (6 July): A bumper edition week with twelve new top 150 entries and three bubbling WAY down under debuts.

 

< Previous week: 22 June 1992                                Next week: 6 July 1992 >

Week commencing 4 March 1991

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

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

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

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

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

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

Peak: number 123

Peak date: 4 March 1991

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

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

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

Number 147 "Preacher Man" by Bananarama

Peak: number 147

Peak date: 4 March 1991

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 147

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

We shall next see Bananarama in July 1991.

 

 

Number 148 "Ride the Wind" by Poison

Peak: number 113

Peak date: 15 April 1991

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks

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

Weeks on chart: 10 weeks

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

Number 150 "Fly to the Angels" by Slaughter

Peak: number 140

Peak date: 18 March 1991

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks

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

Weeks on chart: 5 weeks

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

Slaughter will join us again in 1992.

 

 

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

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

Peak: number 163

Peak date: 4 March 1991

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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