Week commencing 29 May 1989

What a mixed bag this week's new entries are.  Among them we have: two Stock Aitken Waterman-related tracks, a 1986 single re-charting, a remix of a 1975 track, some actors from Neighbours become backing singers, Barry Manilow (!), and a KLF side project of sorts!  Let's recap:

Pat & Mick: They hadn't stopped dad-dancing yet.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 130 "All I Ask of You" by Cliff Richard & Sarah Brightman

Peak: number 130 (in 1989); number 24 (in 1987)

Peak dates: 29 May 1989 (1989 release); 16 March 1987 (original release)
Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks (in 1989); 37 weeks in the top 100 in 1986-7.

Top 150 chart run (1989 release): 130-135-138-133-135-138

This 1986 Andrew Lloyd-Webber production originally peaked at number 24 in Australia in March 1987.  Despite an impressive chart run of 37 weeks in the top 100, only 6 of those weeks were in the top 40.  I guess The Phantom of the Opera, from which this track is lifted, must have been on tour in Australia around this time in 1989, leading to the single re-charting.

 

Cliff will bubble under next in January 1990, while Sarah will next join us in 1993.

Number 136 "Sky High” (Remix) by Jigsaw UK

Peak: number 101

Peak date: 17 July 1989
Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 136-126-112-110-129-114-114-101

I have previously written about this track in my special post on singles peaking at number 101.  The original version of this track peaked at number 3 in Australia in November 1975.  This version was remixed by Pete Hammond, from the PWL (Pete Waterman of Stock Aitken Waterman's label) stable.  The remixed version didn't fare much better in the UK, where it peaked at number 92 in April 1989.

Number 146 "Secrets" by Andy Pawlak

Peak: number 141

Peak dates: 5 June 1989 and 19 June 1989
Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 146-141-142-141-146-145

I'm pretty sure I was not aware of this song at the time.  It sounds like just the sort of thing radio would have lapped up in 1989, slotting nicely into that Deacon Blue, Prefab Sprout, Hue and Cry, Love and Money kind of sophistipop genre.  Despite that, and Andy hailing from England, it only peaked at number 295 (number 195 on the compressed chart) in the UK in January 1989, and did not chart anywhere else.  It's quite a nice track, I think, and deserved to do much better.

Number 149 "Hey Ciao" by Albie Wilde & The Dayglos

Peak: number 101

Peak date: 12 June 1989
Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks 

Chart run: 149-116-101-124-119-134-135

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

Here's another one I have already written about, in my special post on singles peaking at number 101.  Jane (Annie Jones) and Gail (Fiona Corke) from Neighbours join a band!  ...and don't seem to do much in it, really.  But this still makes for a fun song, with a colourful video to boot.  It seemed at this point that half of the Neighbours cast was releasing records, and we would even be 'treated' to offerings from Stefan Dennis and... er, Madge & Harold later in the year.  It's a shame we never got a single from Nell Mangel!

On the state charts, “Hey Ciao” performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 57.

Number 150 "I Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet" by Pat & Mick

Peak: number 130

Peak date: 12 June 1989
Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 150-(out for 1 week)-130-(out for 1 week)-149-(out for 3 weeks)-150

Weeks on chart: 9 weeks

Speaking of Stock Aitken Waterman, here they are again with two UK radio personalities, Pat Sharp (the one with the mullet) and Mick Brown, covering the Gonzalez song, which peaked at number 30 in Australia in July 1979.

 

During the late 80s and early 90s, Pat & Mick would record and release a SAW-produced track what seemed like once a year, all in the name of charity.  My favourite release of theirs is "Let's All Chant", which peaked at number 11 in the UK in May 1988.

 

"I Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet" was the only Pat & Mick single released in Australia.  Interestingly, the mulleted one looks uncannily like a younger version of my maths teacher from high school, Mr. Robinson, who taught me in years 8, 10, and 12; though he also wore (seriously) Coke bottle glasses.

 

On the state charts, "I Haven't Stop Dancing Yet" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 74 - although, oddly, not until November 1989!

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 151 "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" by Disco 2000

Peak: number 151

Peak date: 29 May 1989
Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

With yet another Stock Aitken Waterman-connection among this week's new entries, June Montana, one half of Disco 2000, was the lead vocalist in the SAW-produced Brilliant, who released several decent but flop singles in 1985 and 1986.  The other half of the duo, Cressida Bowyer, was none other than the (now ex-) wife of Jimmy Cauty - who was one half of The KLF and also in Brilliant with June.  Phew!  With that pedigree, you would expect this track - a cover version of a Motown Stevie Wonder track from 1965 - would be a hit; but it wasn't to be.

 

Internationally, "Uptight..." peaked at number 91 (number 86 on the compressed chart) in the UK in May 1989.  Locally, the single performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 117.

 

Since I won't otherwise get the opportunity to talk about it here, I thought I'd mention that June also had a very decent track, "I Need Your Love", out around the same time, which is well worth checking out.

Number 162 "Free World" by Kirsty MacColl

Peak: number 162

Peak date: 29 May 1989
Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

Despite her 1987 duet with The Pogues belatedly becoming a Christmas 'hit' of sorts, and even denting the lower end of our top 50 in 2019, this was Kirsty's first chart 'hit' in Australia.  Despite having sporadic decent-sized hit singles in the UK throughout the 80s in her native UK, none of Kirsty's singles really crossed over here.  Her biggest solo success would come in 1991 with "Walking Down Madison" (number 58, September 1991).

 

"Free World" was the lead single from Kirsty's Kite album (number 110, July 1989).  Internationally, "Free World" peaked at number 43 in the UK in April 1989.  Locally, "Free World" was most successful in Western Australia, where it reached number 90 on the state chart.

 

Two more singles from the album were issued in Australia: "Days" (released locally in July 1989) and "Innocence" (released September 1989), neither of which charted.

 

Kirsty tragically died in December 2000, aged 41, after being hit by a speedboat while surfacing from a dive in Mexico.  Kirsty will bubble under again several times in the coming years, with the next occasion being in 1992.

Number 167 "Please Don't Be Scared" by Barry Manilow

Peak: number 156

Peak date: 19 June 1989

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

Who would have guessed that Barry Manilow had a 'hit' on the Australian chart as late as 1989?  Not me.  That being said, Barry placed 15 singles on the Australian top 100 between 1975 and 1986, with the biggest of those being "Can't Smile without You" (number 3, June 1978).

"Please Don't Be Scared" was lifted from Barry's thirteenth studio album Barry Manilow, which did not chart in Australia.

Internationally, "Please Don't Be Scared" peaked at number 35 in the UK in April 1989.

Domestically, the single performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 113.

Barry placed one further single on the Australian chart, "Copacabana (At the Copa)" (The 1993 Remix), which peaked at number 92 in May 1994.

Number 169 "Don't Take My Mind on a Trip" by Boy George

Peak: number 162

Peak date: 26 June 1989
Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

Boy George's solo career started out with a number 5-peaking single in 1987, but no subsequent single to date had peaked higher than number 77.  This very 'American'-sounding number didn't turn his fortunes around.  In fact, he would only score one other Australian top 40 hit during his career, in 1993 with "The Crying Game" (number 39, May 1993).

George had previously bubbled under on the Australian Music Report's singles receiving significant sales reports beyond the top 100 list in April 1988, when "Live My Life" reached fifteenth place on the list.

Another Boy George single, "No Clause 28", registered within the top 100 on three of the state charts, but did not chart nationally - this was before the ARIA singles chart extended beyond number 100.  "No Clause 28", a protest song about Margaret Thatcher's conservative UK government's legislation prohibiting the "promotion of homosexuality", peaked highest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 78.

Confusingly, Boy George released three albums, with similar but not identical tracklistings, in the space of a year, around this time.  Two of them, Tense Nervous Headache (number 145, February 1989) and High Hat (number 126, June 1989) were released in Australia, with "Don't Take My Mind on a Trip" being the lead single from the latter.  "No Clause 28", however, did not appear on either album, and was instead on the Boyfriend album, which was issued in some European countries (but not the UK) and Asia.

Internationally, "Don't Take My Mind on a Trip" peaked at number 68 in the UK in March 1989.  Locally, the single was most successful in Western Australia, where it reached number 123.

We shall see Boy George bubble under next in October 1989 with one of his other projects.  George will next bubble under solo in 1992.

Next week (5 June): Five new entries plus another five bubbling WAY down under debuts.  Among them is a 1960s singer who scored a hit a couple of years ago after an unlikely pairing with a current pop group.  You can follow all of my posts on facebook, too.

< Previous post: 22 May 1989                                                    Next post: 5 June 1989 >

Week commencing 22 May 1989

I can't find a common thread among this week's new entries, other than none of them made the top 100, which is... the entire point of this blog.  So let's take a look at them:

Kim Carnes: Did you know this woman is a number 162-hit wonder Down Under?

Top 150 debuts:

Number 127 "Tempers Fire" by The Mad Turks

Peak: number 127

Peak dates: 22 May 1989 and 12 June 1989

Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 127-129-128-127-130-137-139-140

The Mad Turks' bio on discogs.com informs me that they formed in Adelaide in 1984, and were previously known as Mad Turks From Istanbul.  The group scored a number 85 'hit' at the end of 1987 with "Holding My Breath" (as Mad Turks From Istanbul), but didn't score any other charting hits.

Number 136 "Life's Just a Ballgame" by Womack & Womack

Peak: number 126

Peak date: 12 June 1989

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks

Chart run: 136-127-129-126-136-136-135

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

This single was released as the follow-up to mega-hit "Teardrops" in the UK, where it stalled at number 32 in November 1988.  Presumably its under-performance there was the reason we went with "Celebrate the World" instead as the second release from Conscience.  I remember seeing this single in the shops, but never heard or saw (assuming a music video exists) the song at the time.  One thing you may not have been aware of is that Cecil Womack, the male half of the duo, died in South Africa in 2013, aged 65.

"Life's Just a Ballgame" also peaked at number 22 in Ireland in November 1988, number 8 in the Flanders region of Belgium in December 1988, number 7 in the Netherlands in December 1988, and number 30 in Germany in December 1988.

In Australia, "Life's Just a Ballgame" performed strongest in Queensland, where it reached number 95 on the state chart.

We'll see Womack & Womack again in September 1989.

Number 141 "Tracie" by Level 42

Peak: number 134

Peak date: 29 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks 

Chart run: 141-134-143-150-144-140-147

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

We saw Level 42 bubble under back in February, and here they are again, with the second single from their eighth studio album Staring at the Sun (number 95, May 1989).

 

"Tracie" peaked at number 25 for the group in their native UK in January 1989, number 19 in Ireland, number 16 in the Netherlands in February 1989, and number 24 in the Flanders region of Belgium in March 1989.

In Australia, "Tracie" was most popular in Queensland, reaching number 115 on the state chart.

We shall see Level 42 again in 1994.  Before then, their compilation album Level Best peaked at number 134 on the ARIA albums chart in February 1990.

 

Number 147 "Break 4 Love" by Raze

Peak: number 147

Peak date: 22 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week 

Top 150 chart run: 147

Debuting on the UK chart in May 1988, this track eventually peaked at number 28 there in February 1989.  It also topped the US Billboard dance chart in November 1988.  In Australia, "Break 4 Love" fared (much) less well, spending a solitary week in the top 150 at number 147.  The percussion from the track would end up being recycled on a Sydney Youngblood song that will bubble under towards the end of 1989.

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 158 "Take Me Back to Rock 'n' Roll" by Col Joye

Peak: number 158

Peak date: 29 May 1989

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

 

Colin Frederick Jacobsen, better known as Col Joye, was one of the first rock and roll stars to emerge from Australia, in 1959.  Col landed a number one single on the Australian chart in 1973 with "Heaven Is My Woman's Love".

 

"Take Me Back to Rock 'n' Roll" was lifted from the album Back to Rock 'n' Roll, which did not chart in Australia.

 

On the ARIA state charts, "Take Me Back to Rock 'n' Roll" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 94.

 

This single was Col's last to chart, although he had two further albums that charted in Australia: Don't Give Up (number 389, May 2006) and Christmas Album (number 610, February 2008).

 

Number 159 "Family Man" by Roachford

Peak: number 157

Peak date: 12 June 1989

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

While Roachford had a fairly successful period in Australia in 1994-5, in 1989 they struggled to break through locally, with nothing charting higher than number 73 until "Only to Be With You" gave them a top 20 hit in 1994.  This track gave the group a number 25 hit in the UK in March 1989, and number 18 in Ireland in March 1989.  Locally, "Family Man" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 89.

Roachford previously scored a minor hit in Australia with "Cuddly Toy", which peaked at number 73 nationally in November 1988.  "Cuddly Toy" was much more popular in Victoria/Tasmania than anywhere else, where it reached number 24 on the state chart.

We will see Roachford next in in 1995.  Before then, the Roachford album peaked at number 176 in July 1991.

 

Number 160 "Time and Tide" by Basia

Peak: number 158

Peak date: 12 June 1989

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

Sophistipop singer Basia, real name Barbara Stanisława Trzetrzelewska (try saying that!), scored a number 69 'hit' in Australia with "New Day for You", which peaked a mere week before this track debuted.  The title track from her number 50-peaking album Time and Tide, this single barely registered a blip on our chart, peaking at a lowly number 158.

 

Internationally, "Time and Tide" peaked at number 61 in the UK in May 1988.  Locally, the single performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 105.

 

Basia, unfortunately, wouldn't see the inside of the top 150 singles chart again, but she will bubble WAY down under again - not once, but twice, in 1990!

 

Number 162 "Crazy in Love" by Kim Carnes

Peak: number 162

Peak date: 22 May 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

Often thought of as being a one-hit wonder, Kim actually scored four top 40 hits in Australia; although the best-charting non-"Bette Davis Eyes" one of them, "Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes)", peaked at number 21, in 1985.  That was the last time Kim ventured into our singles chart, prior to now.  Having not heard "Crazy in Love" before, I wasn't expecting it to be an understated ballad.  From what I can see, this track didn't chart on a 'real' chart (Billboard's Adult Contemporary & Country charts do not count for me) anywhere else.

 

"Crazy in Love" was lifted from Kim's eleventh studio album View from the House (number 102, March 1989).  Locally, the single performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 101.

 

We will next see Kim in 1992.

Next week (29 May): five new entries - although two of them are old tracks, and another is a cover of a 70s disco track; plus another four bubbling WAY down under tracks.  Remember, you can also follow my posts on facebook.

< Previous post: 15 May 1989                                           Next post: 29 May 1989 >

Week commencing 15 May 1989

The most obvious common thread among this week's seven new entries and two bubbling WAY down under entries is that I didn't know any of these songs at the time; although one of them would become a proper hit when covered by another artist a year and a half later.

Chosen Few: Only a chosen few can rise to the top 100.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 123 "Rise" by Chosen Few

Peak: number 120

Peak date: 12 June 1989

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 123-130-126-133-120-132-128

Before unearthing the 101-150 segment of the charts, I had no idea that the Daryl Braithwaite version of this song, which became a top 30 hit a mere 18 months later, was a cover version.  Chosen Few were an Australian band, formed in 1985.  They only released one album, Friends, Foes & Firewood, which I can exclusively reveal peaked at number 128 on the albums chart in July 1990.  This track is lifted from that album.  Chosen Few will bubble under again on the singles chart in 1990 and 1991; unfortunately, they never cracked the top 100.

Number 126 "My Spark and Me" by Robyne Dunn

Peak: number 122

Peak date: 22 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 126-122-144-139-140

Another track by an Australian artist I was unaware of at the time, Robyn Dunn has a Wikipedia page, despite not ever cracking the top 100.  Her notability for warranting her own article (yes, I moonlight as a Wikipedia editor) was presumably established due to being nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Female Artist in 1990, for parent album Labour of Liberty.  Only a snippet of the music video, screened on a 2019 rage Retro Month repeat of a 1989 episode of The Factory, is used in the video below.

 

 

Number 131 "Ordinary Lives" by Bee Gees

Peak: number 131

Peak date: 15 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 131-140-139-137-146-138

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

Bee Gees (no 'The') made their first of three Bubbling Down Under appearances in 1989 with this track; another one I was unfamiliar with in 1989.  As mentioned in my special post on singles peaking at number 101 between 1989 and 1991, Bee Gees were absent from the Australian top 100 singles chart for almost a decade, between January 1988 and June 1997.  The trio fared marginally better in the UK, where this track peaked at number 54 in April 1989.  "Ordinary Lives" also peaked at number 8 in Germany in May 1989, number 27 in the Netherlands in May 1989, number 9 in Switzerland in May 1989, number 22 in the Flanders region of Belgium in May 1989, and number 19 in Austria in June 1989.

In Australia, "Ordinary Lives" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 83 on the state chart.

We will see Bee Gees next in July 1989.

Number 138 "Walk Away" by Del Shannon

Peak: number 124

Peak dates: 22 May 1989 and 5 June 1989

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 138-124-142-124-141-137

Without having access to the relevant chart book/s to verify the chart positions are accurate for myself, Del's Wikipedia article lists that he had numerous charting singles in Australia during the 1960s, including three number ones.  Since the 60s, however, (I can verify that) he only scored one top 100 'hit' in Australia, with "Tell Her No" in 1975 (peaking at number 90).  While this track just scraped into the Australian Music Report top 100 at number 99, it peaked 25 places lower on the ARIA chart.  Tragically, Del died due to suicide less than a year later in February 1990, aged 55.

Number 145 "Me and Mrs Jones" by Ten Wedge

Peak: number 127

Peak date: 5 June 1989

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 145-128-128-127-128-135-139

I was expecting this group to hail from the US, given the smooth r&b sound; but it appears that they were Australian.  A cover version of the Billy Paul song about an extramarital affair, Ten Wedge's version didn't quite take off.  We'll hear from them again in 1990.

Number 148 "Rough Night in Jericho" by Dreams So Real

Peak: number 148

Peak date: 15 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week 

Top 150 chart run: 148

An American band, Dreams So Real dented the lower end of the Australian Music Report top 100 singles chart with this (at number 97), but peaked 51 places lower on the ARIA chart.  Wikipedia tells me that this track peaked at number 28 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks (now Alternative Songs) chart - but because the Billboard website is so... how shall we say, crap, I can't actually verify whether this information is correct.  The group released three studio albums between 1986 and 1990 before being dropped by their record label.

Number 150 "Highway to Hell" by Tiny Tim

Peak: number 150

Peak date: 15 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week 

Top 150 chart run: 150

Now this, readers, is truly bizarre.  Tiny Tim, real name Herbert Butros Khaury, was a ukelele player (yes, you read that right), best known for his falsetto version of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".  So... just the kind of person you'd expect to release a cover version of an AC/DC song, right?  Sang in a much lower register, you would never guess this was the same person who sang "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 153 "Fading Away" by Will to Power

Peak: number 153

Peak date: 15 May 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

Will to Power are best known in Australia for their cover version medley of "Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley", which peaked at number 20 locally, and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in December 1988.  That song, however, was not typical of the duo's sound; they instead were more of a dance (in that late 80s US kinda-way 'dance') act.  "Fading Away", lifted from the duo's debut album Will to Power (number 106, March 1989) didn't perform nearly as well on the chart as its predecessor, peaking at number 65 on the US Hot 100 in February 1989, and outside the top 150 locally.  It would take another cover version ballad for the group to score a second, and final, hit in early 1991.

Elsewhere, "Fading Away" also peaked number 84 in the UK in February 1989.  Domestically, the single performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 120.

Number 156 "Boy, I've Been Told" by Sa-Fire

Peak: number 156

Peak date: 15 May 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

Sa-Fire, real name Wilma Cosmé, hails from Puerto Rica.  "Boy, I've Been Told" was her first - and only - single issued in Australia, though was her third release internationally.

"Boy, I've Been Told" peaked at number 48 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in November 1988.

Locally, "Boy, I've Been Told" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 112.

 

Next week (22 May): only four top 150 new entries, including a flop from an act responsible for one of the bigger hits of 1989.  You can follow my posts on facebook.

< Previous post: 8 May 1989                                             Next post: 22 May 1989 >

Week commencing 8 May 1989

One unusual thing about this week's new entries is that each one peaked where it debuted on the chart, unable to climb any higher.  Another thing five of the six have in common is that the lead vocals are sung by men.  With those earth-shattering insights out of the way, let's delve into this week's debuts...

Tommy Page: This 'Page' boy scored his first of three non-hits on the chart this week in 1989.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 134 "Got It Made" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Peak: number 134

Peak date: 8 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 134-142-143-(out for 1 week)-136

One thing that really stands out about the charts in 1989 - to me, anyway - is that, among all of the 'teeny-bopper' stuff, you still had the odd track like this that appealed to your mum... or your dad, in this instance.  Not that my dad listened to this group specifically; Gipsy Kings, Traveling Wilburys, Texas and Simply Red were more his thing in 1989.   Are there such wider-appeal acts in the singles charts these days?  I'm guessing not, as none of it appeals to me, at the ripe old age of 41.  Back onto the artists in question, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young rode a wave of relative success for them on the Australian chart, off the back of number 53 'hit' "American Dream" from earlier in 1989, with this follow-up release. While not as instantly catchy, I prefer this song to its predecessor.

Number 145 "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" by Cinderella

Peak: number 145

Peak date: 8 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 145

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

Here's another song I didn't know at the time, but have become more-recently acquainted with, thanks to the excellent Monday night (technically Tuesday morning, usually) 'vault' episodes of the music video program rage.  It seemed obligatory for every metal act in the mid-late 80s to have a lighters-in-the-air big ballad release, and this was Cinderella's.  It was also the group's first foray onto the Australian singles chart.

 

Internationally, "Don't Know What You Got..." peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in November 1988, becoming their biggest commercial hit there.  The single also peaked at number 54 in the UK in February 1989.

In Australia, "Don't Know What You Got..." was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 116.

 

We will hear from them again in July.  The band finally cracked the top 100 singles chart in 1991 with "Shelter Me", though couldn't climb higher than number 48.

 

Number 146 "Nightmares" by Violent Femmes

Peak: number 146

Peak date: 8 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 2 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 146-149 

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

In 1986, Violent Femmes scored a number 54 hit locally with their version of  "Children of the Revolution", but had not, until now, made a return visit to our singles chart.  The group would score two top 100 singles during the 90s, but none would climb higher than number 62.  It seems that Violent Femmes fans were more inclined to buy their albums, which had greater success.

 

On the state charts, "Nightmares" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 126.

 

Violent Femmes will bubble down under again in 1991.

Number 149 "A Shoulder to Cry On" by Tommy Page

Peak: number 149

Peak date: 8 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week 

Top 150 chart run: 149

I first became acquainted with Tommy Page via another single that would bubble down under in 1990.  Poor Tommy couldn't dent the ARIA top 100, but bubbled under three times between 1989 and 1991!  Maybe he would have had more success if the record company had ditched the slick, American-sounding overproduced ballads and instead released the Harding & Curnow (the Stock Aitken Waterman 'B-team') remixed version of "A Zillion Kisses" as a single.  Sadly, Tommy took his own life in 2017, aged 49.

 

Number 150 "Walk on the Wild Side" by Jeff Duff

Peak: number 150

Peak date: 8 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week 

Top 150 chart run: 150

I'm not entirely sure why this 1981 cover version of the well-known Lou Reed song (which, bizarrely, only peaked at number 100 in 1973) charted in Australian in 1989.  Does anyone reading this know?  Pressings of a remixed version with 1987 as the year are listed on discogs.com, but even that was two years before this.

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 172 "Saved by Love" by Amy Grant

Peak: number 172

Peak date: 8 May 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

 

American Christian singer Amy Grant first came to my attention (though I didn't know who she was at the time) via a 'Christian' television commercial that made its way to Australia in the 1980s, singing the song "Angels", which I don't actually mind, despite being an atheist and its silly lyrics.

 

Amy made some minor ripples on the Australian chart in the mid 1980s, when "Find a Way" (number 98, October 1985) and her duet with Peter Cetera "The Next Time I Fall" (number 90, January 1987) made their way into the lower end of the top 100. 

"Saved by Love" was the second single released in Australia from Amy's seventh studio album Lead Me On, which failed to chart nationally (when the chart ended at number 100), but registered on the South Australia/Northern Territory state albums chart, where it reached number 46 in August 1988.  It followed the title track, which similarly failed to chart nationally, but reached number 86 on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart in September 1988.

Amy made her crossover into the pop charts in 1991 with the album Heart in Motion (number 14, September 1991), and the hit singles "Baby Baby" (number 5, June 1991) and "Every Heartbeat" (number 17, September 1991).

We shall next see Amy in 1994.

Number 175 "When the Children Cry" by White Lion

Peak: number 175

Peak date: 8 May 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

Hailing from New York City, White Lion formed in 1983.  "When the Children Cry", their first single to chart in Australia, was lifted from the band's second album Pride (number 149, March 1989).

"When the Children Cry" reached number 3 in the US, number 2 in Canada in February 1989, number 88 in the UK in March 1989, and number 7 in Sweden in May 1989.

 

Locally, "When the Children Cry" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 133.

Although the band never landed a top 100 single or album in Australia, we will see them bubble under on a few more occasions, with their next visit to this region of the chart coming in July 1989.

Next week (15 May): Seven new entries, plus two bubbling WAY down under debuts.  Among them is the original version of a song that would become a hit when covered by another artist in 1990, and a rather bizarre cover of an AC/DC song.

< Previous post: 1 May 1989                                             Next Post: 15 May 1989 >

Week commencing 1 May 1989

Sometimes, a big name in popular music releases a flop, while an act who've yet to register a top 100 hit already has a following and some name recognition.  We see both kinds of acts appearing in the list of new entries peaking outside the top 100 this week in 1989.  Also, all but two of this week's eight new entries are by Australian acts.

Yothu Yindi: Mainstream Australia wasn't quite ready for Yothu Yindi in 1989.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 134 "I Don't Wanna Go To Work"  by The Happening Thang

Peak: number 134

Peak date: 1 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week 

Top 150 chart run: 134

Before checking, I could just tell - from the video still and the way this track sounds - that The Happening Thang were an Australian act.  Their discogs page reveals that the group were nominated for an ARIA Award - ah, back in the days when acts like this you'd never heard of would get nominated, but less 'credible' pop acts like Kylie Minogue would continually get snubbed.  I can't say I'm a fan of this track, if you hadn't already guessed...

Number 138 "We're No Angels" by John Farnham

Peak: number 108

Peak date: 22 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 138-130-110-108-122-134-129

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

As big as John Farnham was in Australia in the mid-late 1980s, one thing I find surprising when looking at his chart history is how the third and fourth singles from Whispering Jack and Age of Reason didn't fare so well on our chart.  Third Whispering Jack single, "A Touch of Paradise", didn't do too badly on the chart (peaking at number 24), but fourth single "Reasons" bombed at number 60.  Given how frequently radio was plugging these songs, you could be forgiven for thinking they were both top 10 hits; I guess people were buying the album instead.  Third Age of Reason single, "Beyond the Call", barely scraped the top 40, and fourth single, "We're No Angels", missed the top 100 altogether.  The success of "We're No Angels" may well have been hindered by the lack of a music video; something shared with fourth Whispering Jack single "Reasons".  I often wonder why record companies didn't invest in videos for every single release during the 1980s - especially for an artist of John Farnham's stature.  The 80s were, after all, the golden era of the music video!  If "We're No Angels" had taken off, surely they would have made a video for it.  I don't think I was aware this track was a single until I saw it in Brashs, so lack of promotion was probably another factor that led to its floppage.  I didn't know this until now, but "We're No Angels" was a cover version of a Mondo Rock song.

 

On the state charts, "We're No Angels" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 62.

 

John will join us next in 1992.

Number 139 "Maybe Midnight" by Rose Bygrave

Peak: number 139

Peak date: 1 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 139-140-143-150-148-146

Rose Bygrave, aka Roslyn Bygrave, was the female voice in Goanna, they of "Solid Rock" fame.  Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about this release - as I don't know the song, and can't find a video of it uploaded anywhere online.  The single is not currently even listed on discogs...  But I did manage to find a (generic sleeve) copy of the 7" single on eBay:

December 2020 update: Finally, some kind soul has uploaded the audio for this track, which can now be viewed on the embedded video below:

 

Number 140 "Drive My Car" by David Crosby

Peak: number 137

Peak dates: 8 May 1989 and 15 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 140-137-137-149

Hot on the heels of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's number 53 'hit' "American Dream" from January, David Crosby struck out on his own for this track... which, while I wouldn't say I liked, I enjoyed more than I expected to.  It turns out that this was David's first - and only, unless I can uncover later below the top 100-peaking singles of his - solo hit on the Australian singles chart.  Believe it or not, David will be joining us again next week, with another group effort.  We’ll see David again as a solo artist in 1993.

 

Number 146 "Calm and Crystal Clear" by Neil Murray

Peak: number 107

Peak date: 3 July 1989

Weeks in top 150: 12 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 146-126-120-137-132-138-122-(out for 1 week)-124-107-116-130-137

Another track I enjoyed more than I expected to (I'm a sucker for a minor chord progression!) is this one, from Neil Murray, who was a founding member of the predominantly Indigenous Australian act, Warumpi Band.  "Calm and Crystal Clear" peaked significantly higher on the Australian Music Report chart, at number 61.  The album this track is lifted from, also titled Calm and Crystal Clear, narrowly missed the ARIA top 100, peaking at number 106 in June 1989.  Neil unfortunately did not enjoy any top 100 ARIA chart success.

 

Number 147 "Mainstream" by Yothu Yindi

Peak: number 115

Peak date: 15 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 147-132-115-138-138-132-133-140-145

Weeks on chart: 11 weeks

Speaking of Indigenous Australian bands, Yothu Yindi scored their first chart entry with "Mainstream" this week in 1989.  They would have to wait another two years before actually hitting the 'mainstream', with the Filthy Lucre Remix of "Treaty" (number 11, September 1991).  I think I first became aware of Yothu Yindi when they were mentioned (and a snippet of them performing was shown) during a TV commercial for some kind of (possibly Australian music month) event in 1990.  I was definitely aware of their existence before "Treaty" broke.

"Mainstream" had the most 'mainstream' success in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 46 on the state chart.  Its parent album, Homeland Movement (number 59, June 1992), made minor ripples outside the ARIA top 150 albums chart in 1989, debuting at number 158 in April 1989, but did not reach its peak until 1992.

We will next see Yothu Yindi in 1993.

Number 148 "What Really Hurts" by The Zimmermen

Peak: number 148

Peak date: 1 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week 

Top 150 chart run: 148

Unfortunately, this is another (Australian, of course) act I can't find a video of the song for online... and I don't know the song, so can't tell you anything about it.  I did, however, find a 2016 article mentioning that it was one of the tracks included on a compilation of Aussie pub rock tracks that had never before been available on CD.  I was also able to find a copy of the single sleeve:

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 155 "Big League" by Tom Cochrane & Red Rider

Peak: number 155

Peak date: 1 May 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week 

 

Canadian singer-songwriter Tom Cochrane launched his recording career in 1974, with the album Hang on to Your Resistance.  His career breakthrough in Australia didn't come until 1992, however, with "Life Is a Highway" (number 2, September 1992), taken from Tom's belated second solo album Mad Mad World (number 46, October 1992).  In between his 1974 and 1991 albums, Tom led the Canadian band Red Rider, who scored a minor hit in Australia in 1982 with "Lunatic Fringe" (number 52. May 1982), their only top 100 single here.

 

Now credited as Tom Cochrane & Red Rider, "Big League" was lifted from the album Victory Day (number 145, March 1989).  Internationally, "Big League" reached number 4 in Canada, and number 9 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

 

In Australia, "Big League" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 105 on the state chart.

 

We shall see Tom on his own next in 1993.

 

Next week (8 May): Five new top 150 entries and two bubbling WAY down under debuts.  You can also follow my posts on facebook.

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Week commencing 24 April 1989

When it comes to having an illustrious chart career, timing is everything - and we'll witness that among this week's new entries.  Included among them is an act whose best charting years were well behind them, one who had come back after a lull but was now struggling again, one who might have had more success if their music was out a few years later, and one whose time was yet to come.  Plus we'll also see an already two years-old single and another by an artist whose two hits were four years apart (and this obviously wasn't one of them) in the bubbling WAY down under section.

Vanessa Williams could only dream of landing a hit down under in 1989.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 106 "Promised Land" by The Style Council

Peak: number 106

Peak date: 24 April 1989

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Chart run: 106-114-109-112-120-124

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

The Style Council charted ten singles on the Australian singles chart between 1983 and 1988, with the biggest of those being "Shout to the Top", peaking at number 4 in early 1985.  They hadn't placed a single in the top 40 though since 1985, when "Boy Who Cried Wolf" peaked at number 38 in September of that year.  A mere three and a half years since then, music styles had changed quite a bit, and The Style Council had updated their sound with this more dance-orientated single - a cover version of a pioneering house track from 1987, by Joe Smooth.  The sound didn't quite connect as well with audiences as The Style's earlier releases, peaking at number 27 in their native UK, and just outside the top 100 down under.  If comments on the video on YouTube are to be believed, the record company were not happy about the band's stylistic change in direction, and did not want them to diversify their sound.  It's a shame, as I think this is quite a good track.

On the ARIA state charts, "Promised Land" performed equally-strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory and Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 94.

The Style Council split in 1989.  We'll see the band's lead singer, Paul Weller, going solo in 1992.

 

Number 122 "Never Had a Lot to Lose" by Cheap Trick

Peak: number 118

Peak date: 1 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks 

Chart run: 154-122-118-138-130-132-133

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

After a nearly six-year absence from the Australian singles chart, Cheap Trick were back in a big way in 1988, with back-to-back number 1 and number 4 hits.  However, the third and fourth singles from the album languished in the 60s, and this fifth and final single from the album performed even worse.  "Never Had a Lot to Lose" had a rockier vibe to it than earlier singles from the album. 

Internationally, "Never Had a Lot to Lose" peaked at number 75 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in March 1989.  Locally, the single performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 88.

We will see Cheap Trick again in 1990.

 

Number 147 "Hit the Ground" by The Darling Buds

Peak: number 147

Peak date: 24 April 1989

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Chart run: 158-147

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

To my ears, this track is just the kind of jangly indie pop with female vocals that might have dented our top 50 anywhere between 1991 and 1993; but alas, "Hit the Ground" was perhaps a bit too 'alternative' for Australian tastes in 1989.  It was also, oddly, the Welsh band's only charting single in Australia, and also their biggest hit in the UK, where it peaked at number 27 in January 1989.  On the state charts, "Hit the Ground" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 64.

 

Number 150 "Dreamin'" by Vanessa Williams

Peak: number 108

Peak date: 15 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks 

Chart run: 150-131-112-108-114-120-122-124

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

Speaking of sounds that Australia wasn't quite ready for, Vanessa Williams made her understated debut on the Australian chart with "Dreamin'" this week in 1989.  At this point, she was mainly known for being crowned Miss America 1984 - a title she had to relinquish a year later after it was revealed that Penthouse magazine would be publishing nudes of her.  Oo-er.  Vanessa would, of course, go on to score a number one hit down under in 1992, but for now she would have to settle for merely bubbling under - something she would do again later in the year, and again in 1991, before scoring that breakthrough hit.  She literally did save the best for last!

Internationally, "Dreamin'" peaked at number 74 in the UK in March 1989, number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in April 1989, number 40 in the Netherlands in April 1989, and number 19 in New Zealand in August 1989.

Locally, "Dreamin'" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 73.

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 161 "We'll Be Right Back" by Steinski & Mass Media

Peak: number 161

Peak date: 24 April 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

This single was released at the end of 1986 in America, and in early 1987 in the UK, where it peaked at number 63 in January of that year.  Quite why it took another two plus years to get released in Australia, I don't know.  Perhaps the record label thought now was the right time, given that some rap songs were finally crossing over into the mainstream?  I caught this one once on Channel 7's Saturday morning music video program of the time, Saturday Morning Live, and recorded it onto my first VHS of music videos recorded from the TV.  I liked that the song sampled TV commercials, and that the video was made up of old commercials from (I assume) the 1950s and 1960s.

On the state charts, "We'll Be Right Back" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 95.

 

 

Number 162 "Everybody Moves" by Died Pretty

Peak: number 154

Peak date: 19 June 1989

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

Australian band Died Pretty formed in Sydney in 1983.  Their fist taste of ARIA chart 'success' came in 1988, when their second studio album Lost registered a place on the South Australia/Northern Territory (number 86, July 1988) and Western Australia (number 100, July 1988) state albums charts.  Lost missed the national chart, however, as it ended at number 100 at that point in time.  The band's 1986 debut album Free Dirt belatedly peaked at number 185 in August 1992.

 

"Everybody Moves" was a non-album single, released in mid-March 1989.  On the state charts, "Everybody Moves" performed strongest in Queensland, where it reached number 121.

 

We will next see Died Pretty in 1990.

 

 

Number 165 "Willow Tree" by Not Drowning, Waving

Peak: number 165

Peak date: 24 April 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

 

Melbourne band Not Drowning, Waving formed in 1983.  They released their first recorded material in 1985, although had to wait until 1989 to land their first chart 'hit' with "Willow Tree", the first single from their second album Claim (number 80, June 1989).

 

"Willow Tree" was most popular in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 138 on the state chart.  We shall see Not Drowning, Waving again in 1991.

Number 176 "Somebody Like You" by Robbie Nevil

Peak: number 176

Peak date: 24 April 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

Robbie scored a number 4 hit down under in March 1987 with "C'est La Vie".  It looked, at this point, that he was going to be a one-hit wonder, with nothing else he released peaking higher than number 38.  That, of course, would all change in 1991, when "Just Like You" matched the peak of "C'est La Vie", though he would never again score a major hit after that.  Listening to this for the first time, it's not bad, but is missing that extra something his hit singles had.

 

"Somebody Like You" was the second single lifted from Robbie's second album A Place Like This (number 154, May 1989).  It followed "Back on Holiday", which was released in Australia in December 1988 but failed to chart. 

Internationally, "Somebody Like You" peaked at number 63 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in April 1989.

Locally, "Somebody Like You" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 164.

Next week (1 May): a whopping eight new entries - among them is the flop fourth single from a number one album from 1988, and the chart arrival of a native Australian group.  You can also follow my posts on facebook.

< Previous post: 17 April 1989                                           Next post: 1 May 1989 >

Week commencing 17 April 1989

A mixed bag of new entries this week, with a common thread - of your single performing better overseas than in your home country - shared by three of them.  The other new entry contains an artist who would eventually go on to greater success in Australia than in her homeland.

When the Cat's Away: Before escaping, Margaret Urlich was part of this Kiwi female covers band.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 103 "Melting Pot" by When the Cat's Away

Peak: number 103

Peak date: 17 April 1989

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 103-105-107-123-119

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

When the Cat's Away were a female vocal 'supergroup' of sorts, although Margaret Urlich - who went on to have a successful solo career - is the only star I can identify.  The group formed in 1985 to perform cover versions of songs they liked, all just for a bit of fun.  This song, however, went all the way to number one on the New Zealand singles chart in December 1988.  I first became aware of it when seeing it at number one on the New Zealand top 10 singles chart published in the Australian edition of Smash Hits magazine.  A cover version of the 1969 Blue Mink song calling for racial harmony, this track peaked 102 places lower on the ARIA singles chart.  I caught the video once or twice in early 1989 on rage, aired before the top 50 chart rundown commenced.  On the state charts, "Melting Pot" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 59.

Number 127 "Something So Strong" by Jim Capaldi

Peak: number 126

Peak dates: 24 April 1989 and 1 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 127-126-126-142-140

Until now, Jim's only real singles chart success in Australia had been his number 6-peaking "Love Hurts" - one of two versions of the same song that became big hits here in 1976.  Making the chart 'success' of this track even more strange is that it didn't chart in his native UK, the US, or anywhere else for that matter.  It does sound like the kind of thing Australian FM radio might have lapped up in the late 80s, though.  Jim passed away in 2005.

 

 

Number 140 "Shooting from My Heart" by Big Bam Boo

Peak: number 122

Peak date: 15 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 140-125-130-135-122

I would not have known this song, if not for rage re-airing a 1989 episode of The Factory that it was played on during retro month 2019.  Big Bam Boo were a British duo, and this track peaked at number 61 in the UK, and number 36 in Canada.  The song has a big sing-a-long chorus, and I think it deserved to do better.

 

Number 147 "Driven Out" by The Fixx

Peak: number 123

Peak date: 1 May 1989

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 147-127-123-131-132-142

Hailing from the UK, this single did not chart in The Fixx's homeland, but peaked at number 55 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1989.  The group had two top 40-peaking singles in Australia: 1982's "Stand Or Fall", and 1983's "One Thing Leads to Another".  We will see The Fixx again in 1991.

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 166 "One Love" by Pat Benatar 

Peak: number 166

Peak date: 17 April 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week

Pat scored a big hit in 1988 with her version of "All Fired Up" (number 2, September 1988).  Few probably would have predicted at the time that it would be her last major hit.  This third single from Pat's 1988 Wide Awake in Dreamland (number 13, September 1988) album barely registered a blip, peaking at number 59 in the UK and doing nothing everywhere else.

 

On the state charts, "One Love" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 145.

 

Pat will join us again in 1991.

 

Next week (24 April): another four new entries - two artists who scored big hits during the 80s among them, plus the understated chart arrival of an artist who would go on to score a number one in Australia. Four bubbling WAY down under singles also debut.  You can also follow my posts on facebook.

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