Week commencing 24 August 1992

This week in 1992 was the quietest week for new top 150 entries peaking outside the top 100 for the whole year, with just one.  Fortunately, there are also three bubbling WAY down under entries to beef up this week's post a little bit.  Before taking a look, I have updated the following post:

* 17 February 1992 - with a new bubbling WAY down under entry from Glass Tiger featuring Rod Stewart.

 

 

Severed Heads had to wait 13 years for their first top 200 'hit' in Australia.

 

Top 150 debut:

 

Number 138 Weedseed EP by Tumbleweed

Peak: number 111

Peak date: 14 September 1992

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 138-137-114-111-133-127-143-145-149

We last saw Australian band Tumbleweed in April 1992, making their debut top 150 appearance with an EP, and here they are again with another EP!

The 5-track Weedseed EP was led by the track "Fish out of Water"; the music video for which is embedded below.

 

Tumbleweed would break into the ARIA top 100 with their next single, "Acid Rain" (number 88, November 1992).  The band would land their biggest hit, and only top 40 single, with their next release after that, "Sundial" (number 35, April 1993).

We'll next see Tumbleweed in 1995.

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 171 "Summer Song" by Joe Satriani

Peak: number 151

Peak date: 14 September 1992

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

 

We last saw American guitar whizz Joe Satriani in 1990.

 

"Summer Song" was the first single issued from Joe's fourth studio album The Extremist (number 29, August 1992).  On the state charts, the single was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 92 on the state chart.

 

We'll next see Joe in 1993.

 

 

Number 186 "Twister" by Severed Heads

Peak: number 186

Peak date: 24 August 1992

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

Australian band Severed Heads formed in 1979 as Mr and Mrs No Smoking Sign.  Tom Ellard, who would remain the band's only constant member after the founding duo left the group in 1981, joined by the end of that year.  The first charting Severed Heads release (ignoring the meaningless US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and the UK indie chart) would not happen until November 1991, when their ninth studio album Cuisine (With Piscatorial) (number 171, January 1992) crept into the ARIA top 200.

"Twister", the band's first charting single, was the only single to receive a commercial release from the Cuisine (With Piscatorial) album.  A music video was made for another track for another track from the album, "Pilot in Hell", however - although it is probably blocked on YouTube (another video of theirs I uploaded received a take-down notice from Tom Ellard some years ago).  The music video for "Twister", embedded below, uses the Act of God edit, which appears on the CD single.  You can listen to the rather different, and better in my opinion (if you ignore the mispronunciation of nuclear as "nukular"), original version of the track here.

 

On the state charts, "Twister" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 143.

 

I wasn't aware of this track until catching the video randomly played on rage in January 1994 (from which the recording below is sourced). 

Severed Heads would go on to land a commercial hit (their only top 100 entry) in Australia with the 1994 remix of "Dead Eyes Opened" (number 16, January 1995).

We shall next see Severed Heads in 1995.

Number 206 "You Are Everything"/"Your Song" by Rod Stewart

Peak: number 197

Peak date: 5 October 1992

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

We last saw English singer Rod Stewart on his own in 1989, and as a featured artist in February 1992.

 

To my surprise, "You Are Everything" was the fifth and final single released in Australia from Rod's sixteenth studio album Vagabond Heart (number 1, July 1991).  Given that the song is a cover version of a song originally recorded by The Stylistics (their version peaked at number 20 on the Go-Set chart in May 1972), I assumed it would have been taken from Rod's 1992 covers album Lead Vocalist (number 96, April 1993).  Its release followed Rod's duet with Tina Turner "It Takes Two" (number 16, February 1991), "Rhythm of My Heart" (number 2, June 1991), "The Motown Song" (number 26, August 1991), and "Broken Arrow" (number 63, January 1992).

Only an Australian pressing of this single is listed on discogs.com, where it was a double A-side of Rod's version of Elton John's "Your Song" (number 10 on the Go-Set chart, April 1971), lifted from the Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin tribute album (number 15, November 1991).

 

Rod's Wikipedia discography page states that his version of "You Are Everything" peaked at number 56 in Canada, but no source is provided to verify this.  Rod's version of "Your Song" peaked at number 60 in the Netherlands in May 1992, number 48 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1992, and number 38 in France in September 1992.  A number 25 peak in Canada is listed on Wikipedia, but no source was provided to verify this.

In Australia, the "You Are Everything"/"Your Song" single performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 170.

 

We shall next see Rod in 1993.

 

Next week (31 August): Four top 150 entries and three bubbling WAY down under debuts.

< Previous week: 17 August 1992                              Next week: 31 August 1992 >

Week commencing 27 April 1992

Welcome back readers to this blog!  I have missed writing these posts over the last 12 months while I underwent treatment for cancer.  While I am still receiving treatment, I decided to resume my posts anyway.  There may be times when I am not able to make a post on the expected day, however.

I mentioned in my December 2023 update that I have a stack of peaks below number 150 to add to earlier posts covering January 1989 to April 1992.  I haven't gotten around to adding these yet, but will make a note when I do.

Now onto this week in 1992...

P.M. Dawn: the top 100 used to be a friend of theirs.
 

Top 150 debuts:

Number 116 Theatre of Gnomes E.P. by Tumbleweed

Peak: number 116

Peak date: 27 April 1992

Weeks in top 150: 3 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 116-136-139

 

Australian band Tumbleweed formed in Woolongong in 1990.  Theatre of Gnomes, their first release to crack the top 150, was an extended play consisting of five tracks, led by "Carousel" (embedded below).  Two previous singles, "Captain's Log" and "Stoned"/"Holy Moses" were issued in July and December 1991, respectively.  The latter two tracks also appeared on this EP.

 

I was not aware of Tumbleweed until their 1993 single "Sundial" (number 35, April 1993) broke into the rage top 60.  Their first taste of top 100 ARIA chart success came with the single "Acid Rain" (number 88, November 1992).

We shall next see Tumbleweed in August 1992.

 

 

Number 128 "Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine" by P.M. Dawn

Peak: number 118

Peak date: 4 May 1992

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks

Chart run: 128-118-121-128

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

 

American hip-hop/r&b duo P.M. Dawn, consisting of brothers Attrell (stage name Prince Be) and Jarrett Cordes (known as Eternal or DJ Minutemix), burst onto the scene in 1991 with "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (number 7, November 1991), which made heavy use of Spandau Ballet's "True" (number 4, September 1983).  When follow-up single "Paper Doll" (number 61, February 1992) stalled on the chart, I had a feeling that the group were destined to become one-hit wonders.  While third single "Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine" - the title of which was mentioned in the lyrics of "Set Adrift..." - did not reverse their chart fortunes, I would be proven wrong.

"Reality..." was remixed by CJ Macintosh for its single release in Europe and Australasia (embedded in the video below).  You can hear the original version of the track, used for the video in North America, here.  The track was lifted from the duo's debut album Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience (number 89, January 1992).

 

Internationally, "Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine" peaked at number 29 in the UK in February 1992.  Within Australia, "Reality..." performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 107.

 

A fourth track from P.M. Dawn's debut album, "Comatose", received a promotional release in the US later in 1992, and a music video was filmed - but it does not appear to have received a commercial release anywhere, although it was used as a B-side on the "Reality..." single.

Prince Be sadly passed away in 2016, aged 46, due to complications of diabetes.  We will next see P.M. Dawn in 1993.

 

 

Number 142 "Pressure" by Sunscreem

Peak: number 137

Peak date: 11 May 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 142-142-137-140-150

Weeks on chart: 10 weeks

 

English band Sunscreem formed in Essex in 1991.  "Pressure" was their second UK release, peaking at number 60 there in February 1992.  In Australia, "Pressure" was their debut single, falling short of the top 100, peaking at number 137.  A remixed version of the track, re-branded "Pressure Us", was released in 1993, peaking at number 19 in the UK in March 1993, and number 64 in Australia in July 1993.  "Pressure" appears on Sunscreem's debut album O₃ (number 73, March 1993).

Sunscreem's commercial breakthrough, and their only top 50 hit in Australia, would come with their third release, "Love U More" (number 30, March 1993), which took six months to reach its chart peak after being released locally in early September 1992.

Within Australia, "Pressure" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 120 on the state chart.

We will next see Sunscreem in August 1992.

 

Number 144 "Half the World" by Belinda Carlisle

Peak: number 129

Peak dates: 4 May 1992 and 11 May 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Known chart run: 178-144-129-129-146-142

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

 

We last saw Belinda Carlisle in 1990.  "Half the World" was the third single released from Belinda's fourth solo studio album Live Your Life Be Free (number 27, November 1991).  It followed the singles "Live Your Life Be Free" (number 13, November 1991) and "Do You Feel Like I Feel?" (number 42, March 1992).

Internationally, "Half the World" peaked at number 35 in the UK in January 1992, and number 62 in Germany in February 1992.  Within Australia, "Half the World" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 115 on the state chart.

I remember seeing "Half the World" being reviewed in the Australian edition of Smash Hits magazine at the time, but did not actually hear the track until about seven years ago.  It's quite a pleasant ballad; its chart success was no doubt hampered from a lack of promotion.

We will see Belinda underperform with another Live Your Life Be Free single in August 1992.

Number 147 "Baby When I Call Your Name" by Corey Hart

Peak: number 139

Peak date: 18 May 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 147-145-147-139-(out for 1 week)-145

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

Canadian singer Corey Hart scored his biggest hit in Australia with "Sunglasses at Night" (number 16, October 1984) in 1984.  He landed another two top 40 hits locally with "It Ain't Enough" (number 37, February 1985) and "Never Surrender" (number 20, September 1985).  Corey was last seen on the Australian chart with the single "A Little Love" (number 73, June 1990) and album Bang! (number 150, September 1990).

"Baby When I Call Your Name", which I hadn't heart before, was lifted from Corey's sixth studio album Attitude & Virtue, which failed to chart in Australia - although it does not appear to have been released locally.

 

In Corey's homeland, "Baby When I Call Your Name" peaked at number 14 in August 1992.  I am surprised that it charted some months earlier in Australia!

On the state charts, "Baby When I Call Your Name" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 113.  This was Corey's final charting release in Australia.

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 197 "Das Boot" by U96

Peak: number 197

Peak date: 27 April 1992

Weeks on chart: 1 week

 

German techno act U96 hail from Hamburg, forming in 1991.  "Das Boot", translating as 'the boat', was their debut release, topping the German singles chart in January 1992, where it remained for a mammoth 13 weeks!

Elsewhere, "Das Boot" peaked at number 1 in Switzerland for 8 weeks, number 1 in Austria for 7 non-consecutive weeks between March and May 1992, number number 5 in Sweden in April 1992, number 1 in Norway, number 11 in the Flanders region of Belgium in June 1992, number 18 in the UK in September 1992, and number 19 in Ireland.

Domestically, "Das Boot" was most popular in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 156.  The track appeared on U96's debut album - their only one to chart in Australia, U96 (number 201, October 1992).

 

I don't recall hearing this track before, other than when I checked it out on YouTube a couple of years ago.

We will next see U96 in 1994.

 

 

Number 198 "Make It on My Own" by Alison Limerick

Peak: number 179

Peak date: 18 May 1992

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

British singer-songwriter Alison Limerick scored her first hit in the UK with "Where Love Lives" (number 27, April 1991), which was issued in Australia in June 1991 but failed to chart.  Alison's second Australian release, "Make It on My Own" scraped into the lower end of the ARIA top 200.  The track appears on her debut album And Still I Rise (number 179, June 1992), which was her only album to chart in Australia.  In her native UK, "Make It on My Own" peaked at number 16 in March 1992.

I wasn't aware of this track at the time, but it sounds pleasant enough.  Within Australia, "Make It on My Own" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 160 on the state chart.

Alison will join us again once more in 1994.

 

 

Next week (4 May): Four top 150 debuts and two bubbling WAY down under entries.

< Previous week: 20 April 1992                                       Next week: 4 May 1992 >