1989 - the chart year in review

Below is a list of all of the singles debuting in 1989 that peaked within the 101 to 150 region of the ARIA singles chart, conveniently in one location:

ARTIST	TITLE	PEAK	DEBUT DATE	WEEKS IN
10,000 MANIACS	Trouble Me	102	3/07/1989	17
2 BRAVE	Stop That Girl	142	13/03/1989	2
ABC	One Better World	122	4/09/1989	7
ADEVA	Respect	150	3/07/1989	1
ADULT NET	Take Me	137	24/07/1989	7
ALBIE WILDE & THE DAYGLOS	Hey Ciao	101	29/05/1989	7
ANDREW CASH	Smile Me Down	109	10/04/1989	7
ANDY PAWLAK	Secrets	141	29/05/1989	6
BACHELORS FROM PRAGUE	Get Smart	118	30/10/1989	5
BARBRA STREISAND	We're Not Makin' Love Anymore	111	13/11/1989	11
BB STEAL	I Believe	128	30/01/1989	4
BEASTIE BOYS	Hey Ladies	141	21/08/1989	3
BEE GEES	Ordinary Lives	131	15/05/1989	6
BEE GEES	One	101	24/07/1989	12
BEE GEES	Tokyo Nights	124	30/10/1989	7
BETTE MIDLER	I Know You By Heart	118	23/10/1989	7
BIG BAM BOO	Shooting From My Heart	122	17/04/1989	5
BIGSTORM	Rubber Love	117	30/01/1989	5
BILL MEDLEY	I'm Gonna Be Strong	114	30/01/1989	1
BILLY BRAGG	She's Got a New Spell	116	13/03/1989	6
BLACK	The Big One	123	6/03/1989	6
BLONDIE	Denis ('88 Remix)	139	20/02/1989	3
BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO	Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad	129	13/03/1989	7
CATFISH	Hiwire Girl	146	20/03/1989	1
CHAKA KHAN	I'm Every Woman (Remix)	147	18/09/1989	1
CHEAP TRICK	Never Had a Lot To Lose	118	24/04/1989	6
CHOSEN FEW	Rise	120	15/05/1989	7
CINDERELLA	Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)	145	8/05/1989	1
CLIFF RICHARD & SARAH BRIGHTMAN	All I Ask of You	130	29/05/1989	6
CLIMIE FISHER	This Is Me	128	30/01/1989	2
CLIMIE FISHER	I Won't Bleed For You	124	27/02/1989	5
CLIVE YOUNG	Naturally	102	24/07/1989	10
CONCRETE BLONDE	God Is a Bullet	146	2/10/1989	1
CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG	Got It Made	134	8/05/1989	4
CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT	Name and Number	131	11/12/1989	8
CYNDI LAUPER	A Night To Remember	145	23/10/1989	1
CYNDI LAUPER	Heading West	117	18/12/1989	10
D.J. JAZZY JEFF & THE FRESH PRINCE	Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble	142	26/06/1989	1
DAMIAN	The Time Warp II	114	4/12/1989	7
DAVID CROSBY	Drive My Car	137	1/05/1989	4
DAVID ESSEX	Rock On	150	17/07/1989	2
DE LA SOUL	Say No Go	143	20/11/1989	4
DEBORAH HARRY	Liar, Liar	141	30/01/1989	4
DEL SHANNON	Walk Away	124	15/05/1989	6
DIANA ROSS	Paradise	117	25/09/1989	8
DON HENLEY	The Last Worthless Evening	120	27/11/1989	10
DORA D	Casanova Baby	150	6/11/1989	1
DREAMS SO REAL	Rough Night In Jericho	148	15/05/1989	1
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD	Nothing Has Been Proved	145	5/06/1989	1
EDDIE MONEY	Walk On Water	126	6/02/1989	8
EIGHTH WONDER	Cross My Heart	116	30/01/1989	1
EIGHTH WONDER	Baby Baby	113	6/03/1989	9
ELECTRA	Jibaro	150	10/04/1989	1
ELLIOT GOBLET	Friday On My Mind	119	25/09/1989	4
ELVIS COSTELLO	This Town	123	10/07/1989	7
ENYA	Evening Falls...	104	10/04/1989	7
ERIC CARMEN	Reason To Try	133	30/01/1989	5
ERIC CLAPTON	Pretending	106	4/12/1989	11
EXPLODING WHITE MICE	Make It	149	31/07/1989	1
EXTREME	Kid Ego	138	18/09/1989	3
E-ZEE POSSEE	Everything Begins With an 'E'	120	25/09/1989	6
GAIL ANN DORSEY	Wasted Country	109	30/01/1989	8
GARY MOORE	Ready For Love	113	10/04/1989	8
GIPSY KINGS	Djobi Djoba	131	30/10/1989	6
GLENN MEDEIROS	Long and Lasting Love (Once In a Lifetime)	113	30/01/1989	7
GRACE JONES	Love On Top of Love (Killer Kiss)	121	27/11/1989	9
GRAEME CONNORS	A Little Further North	125	30/01/1989	1
GRAEME CONNORS	Cyclone Season	135	20/02/1989	5
GREAT WHITE	Once Bitten Twice Shy	144	11/09/1989	1
HANK WILLIAMS, JR.	There's a Tear In My Beer	118	19/06/1989	6
HENRY LEE SUMMER	Hey Baby	142	21/08/1989	2
HIPPOS	Time and Motion	128	9/10/1989	7
HIPSWAY	Your Love	103	3/07/1989	7
HITHOUSE	Jack To the Sound of the Underground	129	20/02/1989	6
HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS	World To Me	113	6/02/1989	7
HUMANOID	Stakker Humanoid	145	11/09/1989	1
HURRICANE	I'm Onto You	148	5/06/1989	1
ICE TIGER	Turn To Fantasy	121	9/10/1989	5
ICE TIGER	All I Need Is a Friend	146	20/11/1989	1
IGGY POP	High On You	114	30/01/1989	6
JABULANI	Want My Love	104	6/02/1989	9
JAMES	Sit Down	141	16/10/1989	3
JANZ	Picture	119	30/10/1989	6
JEFF DUFF	Walk On the Wild Side	150	8/05/1989	1
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE	Planes	148	27/11/1989	1
JERRY LEE LEWIS	Great Balls of Fire	101	28/08/1989	7
JIGSAW UK	Sky High (1989 remix)	101	29/05/1989	8
JIM CAPALDI	Something So Strong	126	17/04/1989	5
JIMMY SOMERVILLE featuring JUNE MILES KINGSTON	Comment Te Dire Adieu	122	11/12/1989	9
JODY WATLEY	Friends	146	14/08/1989	1
JOE CAMILLERI	Angel Dove	129	20/11/1989	10
JOE JACKSON	Down To London	126	31/07/1989	6
JOHN FARNHAM	We're No Angels	108	1/05/1989	7
JOHN KILZER	Memory In the Making	114	30/01/1989	9
JOHNNY KEMP	Birthday Suit	117	12/06/1989	7
JOHNNY O'KEEFE	Shout (Parts 1 & 2)	146	6/03/1989	1
JUDSON SPENCE	Yeah, Yeah, Yeah	133	3/04/1989	6
JULIA FORDHAM	Happy Ever After	147	30/01/1989	1
KENNY ROGERS	Planet Texas	129	17/07/1989	6
KING SWAMP	Is This Love	109	27/02/1989	3
KISS	(You Make Me) Rock Hard	101	24/07/1989	6
KOOL & THE GANG	Raindrops	123	7/08/1989	7
LEVEL 42	Heaven In My Hands	115	27/02/1989	7
LEVEL 42	Tracie	134	22/05/1989	7
LIVING COLOUR	Open Letter (To a Landlord)	116	12/06/1989	9
LIVING IN A BOX	Gatecrashing	104	21/08/1989	9
LL COOL J	I'm That Type of Guy	148	7/08/1989	1
LONDON BOYS	Requiem	149	4/09/1989	1
LUCINDA WILLIAMS	I Just Wanted To See You So Bad	122	14/08/1989	9
MACHINATIONS	Cars & Planes	105	27/02/1989	9
MARC ALMOND	Tears Run Rings	128	5/06/1989	5
MARCUS MONTANA	Tell Him I'm Your Man	146	16/10/1989	1
MARSHALL CRENSHAW	Some Hearts	140	18/09/1989	5
MARTIN KAYE	Quit This Joint	131	6/02/1989	1
MARTIN STEPHENSON	Wholly Humble Heart	136	27/03/1989	6
MASTERS APPRENTICES	Birth of the Beat	132	30/01/1989	4
MELISSA ETHERIDGE	The Angels	116	18/12/1989	8
MICHAEL BALL	Love Changes Everything	123	14/08/1989	7
MICHELLE SHOCKED	When I Grow Up	108	3/04/1989	6
MICHELLE SHOCKED	On the Greener Side	118	18/12/1989	9
MICK JONES	Everything That Comes Around	150	5/06/1989	1
MORRISSEY	Interesting Drug	111	10/07/1989	10
NEIL MURRAY	Calm and Crystal Clear	107	1/05/1989	12
NO FACE	Hump Music	132	18/09/1989	4
ON THE BALL	Let's Go Broncos	144	31/07/1989	3
ORDINARY MORTALS	Lost Souls	139	20/02/1989	2
OZ ART FOR OZONE	Our Children's World	123	4/12/1989	10
PANDORA'S BOX	It's All Coming Back To Me Now	133	13/11/1989	10
PAT & MICK	I Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet	130	29/05/1989	4
PATRICK SWAYZE	Raising Heaven (In Hell Tonight)	131	28/08/1989	6
PAUL CARRACK	I Live By the Groove	105	13/11/1989	11
PAUL KELLY AND THE MESSENGERS	Careless	116	30/10/1989	7
PAUL McCARTNEY	This One	113	21/08/1989	8
PAUL RUTHERFORD	Get Real	132	27/03/1989	1
PETE TOWNSHEND	A Friend Is a Friend	113	24/07/1989	8
PETER COMBE	Chopsticks	125	9/10/1989	5
PHILIP BAILEY/LITTLE RICHARD	Twins	116	6/02/1989	6
POP WILL EAT ITSELF	Very Metal Noise Pollution (EP)	121	18/12/1989	5
PRETENDERS	Windows of the World	117	13/03/1989	5
PRINCE with SHEENA EASTON	The Arms of Orion	108	4/12/1989	10
PRISCILLA'S NIGHTMARE	She Ain't No Woman	111	14/08/1989	7
PUBLIC IMAGE LTD	Warrior	114	28/08/1989	4
QUEEN	The Invisble Man	118	2/10/1989	7
RAINBIRDS	Blueprint	149	27/03/1989	3
RANDY CRAWFORD featuring ERIC CLAPTON AND DAVID SANBORN	Knockin' On Heaven's Door	116	30/10/1989	10
RAZE	Break 4 Love	147	22/05/1989	1
RICHARD CLAPTON	Deep Water	147	10/07/1989	1
RICHARD CLAPTON	Ace of Hearts	122	25/09/1989	7
ROBBEN FORD	Talk To Your Daughter	108	6/02/1989	9
ROBERT PALMER	Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming	117	20/11/1989	4
ROBERT PALMER	Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)	106	27/11/1989	4
ROBIN BECK	First Time	148	26/06/1989	2
ROBYNE DUNN	My Spark and Me	122	15/05/1989	5
ROD STEWART	Crazy About Her	130	7/08/1989	7
ROSE BYGRAVE	Maybe Midnight	139	1/05/1989	6
ROY ORBISON AND FRIENDS	Oh Pretty Woman	112	6/11/1989	9
ROY ORBISON/K.D. LANG	Crying	143	3/04/1989	2
SALT 'N' PEPA	Get Up Everybody (Get Up)/Twist and Shout	111	6/03/1989	5
SAM BROWN	This Feeling	115	18/09/1989	6
SCARY BILL	Western World	106	12/06/1989	8
S-EXPRESS	Mantra For a State of Mind	141	20/11/1989	2
SHANE HOWARD	Back To the Track	148	13/03/1989	2
SHERIFF	When I'm With You	117	13/03/1989	6
SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK	Success	141	6/03/1989	3
SIMPLY RED	You've Got It	127	18/12/1989	7
SINEAD O'CONNOR	Jump In the River	134	6/02/1989	7
SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES	Peek-a-Boo	149	30/01/1989	1
SKID ROW	Youth Gone Wild	148	24/07/1989	1
SKID ROW	18 & Life	126	11/12/1989	5
SPANDAU BALLET	Be Free With Your Love	110	18/09/1989	7
STEVE EARLE	Back to the Wall	115	10/04/1989	6
STEVE HOY	Raindance	107	19/06/1989	11
STEVE STEVENS	Atomic Playboys	138	6/11/1989	1
STRAY CATS	Bring It Back Again	109	3/07/1989	5
STRYPER	I Believe In You	109	3/04/1989	5
SWING OUT SISTER	You On My Mind	114	26/06/1989	7
SWINGSHIFT	No Matter What	126	5/06/1989	11
SYDNEY YOUNGBLOOD	If Only I Could	122	20/11/1989	4
TANITA TIKARAM	Good Tradition	142	30/01/1989	2
TANITA TIKARAM	Cathedral Song	120	3/07/1989	7
TEN WEDGE	Me and Mrs Jones	127	15/05/1989	7
THE ALARM	Sold Me Down the River	148	30/10/1989	1
THE ART OF NOISE	Paranoimia '89	103	3/07/1989	6
THE B-52's	Channel Z	145	28/08/1989	2
THE BEATMASTERS with MERLIN	Who's In the House	137	12/06/1989	2
THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH	Song For Whoever	145	18/09/1989	1
THE BIBLE	Honey Be Good	144	27/03/1989	4
THE BLUE NILE	The Downtown Lights	148	16/10/1989	1
THE BOMBERS	Running In the Shadows	130	23/10/1989	7
THE CALL	Let the Day Begin	111	11/09/1989	11
THE CELIBATE RIFLES	Johnny	128	13/03/1989	7
THE CELIBATE RIFLES	O Salvation	123	26/06/1989	4
THE DARLING BUDS	Hit the Ground	147	24/04/1989	1
THE ESCAPE CLUB	Shake For the Sheik	114	30/01/1989	8
THE EVERLY BROTHERS	Don't Worry Baby	114	20/02/1989	10
THE FIXX	Driven Out	123	17/04/1989	6
THE FOUR TOPS	Loco In Acapulco	141	13/03/1989	1
THE GRACES	Lay Down Your Arms	127	9/10/1989	5
THE HAPPENING THANG	I Don't Wanna Go To Work	134	1/05/1989	1
THE HUMAN LEAGUE	Love Is All That Matters	113	30/01/1989	2
THE JEFF HEALEY BAND	Angel Eyes	115	19/06/1989	12
THE JEFF HEALEY BAND	Roadhouse Blues	146	17/07/1989	2
THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN	Head On	102	18/12/1989	11
THE MAD TURKS	Tempers Fire	127	22/05/1989	8
THE PARTY BOYS	Follow Your Heart	107	13/03/1989	11
THE POGUES	Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah	111	20/03/1989	6
THE PONY	The Big Picture	125	27/03/1989	6
THE RAMONES	Pet Sematary	149	20/11/1989	1
THE REELS	Forever Now	135	30/01/1989	6
THE ROBERT CRAY BAND	Acting This Way	136	30/01/1989	4
THE SEEKERS	How Can a Love So Wrong Be Right	118	31/07/1989	7
THE STATE	So Lonely Now	150	27/02/1989	1
THE STYLE COUNCIL	Promised Land	106	24/04/1989	6
THE SUGARCUBES	Regina	141	18/09/1989	1
THE SUNNYBOYS	Sinful Me	105	12/06/1989	8
THE THE	Gravitate To Me	147	14/08/1989	1
THE ZIMMERMEN	What Really Hurts	148	1/05/1989	1
TIFFANY	All This Time	120	20/03/1989	7
TIM FINN	Crescendo	120	17/07/1989	8
TINY TIM	Highway To Hell	150	15/05/1989	1
TOMMY EMMANUEL	Guitar Concierto De Aranjuez	138	4/12/1989	8
TOMMY PAGE	A Shoulder To Cry On	149	8/05/1989	1
U2	Where the Streets Have No Name	138	27/11/1989	1
UB40	I Would Do For You	121	10/07/1989	6
VAN HALEN	Finish What Ya Started	123	30/01/1989	4
VANESSA WILLIAMS	Dreamin'	108	24/04/1989	8
VIOLENT FEMMES	Nightmares	146	8/05/1989	2
VIXEN	Cryin'	111	27/03/1989	11
VIXEN	Love Made Me	149	14/08/1989	1
WANDA JACKSON	Let's Have a Party	145	25/09/1989	1
WANG CHUNG	Praying To a New God	127	26/06/1989	10
WEDDINGS, PARTIES, ANYTHING	Streets of Forbes	113	25/09/1989	8
WHEN IN ROME	The Promise	103	30/01/1989	14
WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY	Melting Pot	103	17/04/1989	5
WHITE LION	Little Fighter	136	24/07/1989	5
WHITE LION	Radar Love	117	4/12/1989	10
WILLIE NELSON with JULIO IGLESIAS	Spanish Eyes	121	30/01/1989	2
WOMACK & WOMACK	Life's Just a Ballgame	126	22/05/1989	7
YELLO	Of Course I'm Lying	123	17/07/1989	12
YOTHU YINDI	Mainstream	115	1/05/1989	9
YOUNG MC	Bust a Move	139	18/09/1989	2
YOUSSOU N'DOUR & PETER GABRIEL	Shakin' the Tree	131	17/07/1989	7
ZAN	Good Love	134	4/12/1989	9

Week commencing 18 December 1989

This week's chart was the last chart survey conducted by ARIA for 1989, and the final chart of the 1980s decade.  Owing to the two-week Christmas break in compiling the chart, this week's chart was repeated on 25 December 1989 and 1 December 1990, although it only reflects sales for the week of 11-17 December 1989.

 

Since 30 January 1989, we have seen 242 singles peak within the number 101 to 150 region of the chart, and a further (at the time of writing) 55 singles peak outside the top 150 - and I've now written about all of them!  Hopefully you've discovered or re-discovered some songs you liked during this nostalgic journey.

This week we have six new top 150 debuts and, for the first time since 23 October 1989, no bubbling WAY down under entries to look at.

Before delving into this week's chart, there are a couple of earlier posts from 1989 that I have recently updated, after additional bubbling WAY down under entries have been uncovered.  These posts are:

- 13 March 1989, with a new bubbling WAY down under debut from Joan Jett and The Blackhearts;

- 10 April 1989, with a new bubbling WAY down under debut from Karyn White;

- 10 July 1989, with new bubbling WAY down under debuts from Pseudo Echo and Big Country.

Finally, as no new chart was produced for the following two weeks, my next chart recap will be published in three weeks' time, on 8 January 2021.  I hope to see you then!

Michelle Shocked: what Karens looked like in 1989.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 129 "The Angels" by Melissa Etheridge

Peak: number 116

Peak date: 5 February 1990

Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks

 

Melissa's fifth single in Australia, this second release from her Brave and Crazy album (number 9, October 1989) was her first to miss the top 40.  I thought I didn't know this one, but the chorus rings a bell.  FM radio in Melbourne loved Melissa Etheridge during this period, and I no doubt heard it played on the radio several times.

 

Unfortunately, the ARIA database conflates this single with Melissa's similarly-titled "Angels Would Fall" from 1999, due to the way the database is set up - apparently, each title is assigned an eight-letter code, using the first four letters of the artist's name, and the first four characters of the song title.  This occasionally leads to errors.  In this instance, "The Angels" would have been listed as "Angels, The", and therefore would share the same code with Melissa's "Angels Come Down".  I am therefore unable to tell you exactly how this single performed on the state charts, but can report that it appeared to do much better on the South Australia/Northern Territory chart, where it debuted at number 54, than in other states.

Melissa will pay us another visit in 1990.

Number 136 "Head On" by The Jesus and Mary Chain

Peak: number 102

Peak date: 22 January 1990

Weeks in top 150: 11 weeks

Another one I probably heard at the time (and, I think, saw on Countdown Revolution), but had no recollection of... until I caught it on rage again in the late 2000s, is this one from The Jesus and Mary Chain.  "Head On" is quite a poppy effort from the Scottish band - still not quite 'pop', but about as catchy and anthemic as they get, and, dare I say this, not entirely unlike Transvision Vamp if they had a male singer.  I could also picture the song being used as music on Home and Away during a 'young lovers' trip to the fairground' scene.  I probably would have enjoyed the song at the time had I been a little bit older (I was 11).

The more-commercial sound connected with the record-buying public... well, relatively, giving the band their first charting single in Australia.  Lifted from the album Automatic (number 89, February 1990), "Head On" peaked at number 57 in the band's native UK in November 1989.  "Head On" performed stronger on the Australian Music Report singles chart, where it peaked at number 92.

We will see The Jesus and Mary Chain again in 1990.

Number 141 Very Metal Noise Pollution E.P. by Pop Will Eat Itself

Peak: Number 121

Peak date: 15 January 1990

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Weeks on chart: 5 weeks

If any Pop Will Eat Itself single charted in Australia, I would have guessed that it would be "Wise Up! Sucker".  I caught the video for that track several times on TV, and even on a TV screen in the music department at my local K-Mart!  The English band even performed it 'live' on Countdown Revolution!  But, somehow, that single did not chart at all.  Instead, this extended play - that is, E.P. for short - which I had never heard of before, did...

I assume that the first track on the E.P., "PWEI-zation", which I have embedded below, was the one promoted as the 'single', but I could be wrong.  A music video was made for track 3 from the EP, "Def Con One", which I have also embedded below.  This latter track samples The Twilight Zone theme music, and also nicks the hook from Lipps, Inc.'s "Funkytown" (number 1, August 1980).

 

Very Metal Noise Pollution was an in-between albums release, and peaked at number 45 in the UK in September 1989.  In Australia, the EP performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 106.

Pop Will Eat Itself also registered their first charting album in Australia with This Is the Day... This Is the Hour... This Is This! (number 128, November 1989).

Pop Will Eat Itself will join us next in 1990.

Number 144 "On the Greener Side" by Michelle Shocked

Peak: number 118

Peak date: 8 January 1990

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks

Weeks on chart: 9 weeks

We first saw Michelle Shocked, real name Karen Michelle Johnston, bubble down under back in April 1989, and here she was again - this time with the lead single from her second album, Captain Swing (number 58, January 1990).  "On the Greener Side" does not appear to have charted on any other 'real' (sales-based) chart, though it did peak at number 19 on the US Billboard 'Alternative Airplay' chart... whatever that means, in January 1990.  While Karen, sorry, Michelle will just scrape into the top 100 singles chart in 1992 with "Come a Long Way" (number 100, July 1992), this will be the last time we see her bubble down under.

 

Due to the apparent absence of this song on YouTube, I can only assume that Karen Michelle wants to speak to the manager whenever her videos or songs are uploaded.  But, thankfully, she doesn't seem to mind having them on Vimeo - assuming the 'Michelle Shocked' account responsible for uploading the video I have embedded below is actually her.  The music video, if I am not mistaken, loosely attempts to subvert the Robert Palmer 'pouting models' music video formula, showcasing a bunch of men in suits cavorting behind her nonchalantly while strumming guitars, before being revealed in Speedos, swimming goggles and not much else flexing their muscles.  Enjoy.

Number 145 "You've Got It" by Simply Red

Peak: number 127

Peak date: 8 January 1990

Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks

Weeks on chart: 9 weeks

Just a few months ago, Simply Red topped the ARIA singles chart with their rendition of "If You Don't Know Me by Now" (number 1, August 1989).  Two single releases later, they were just scraping into the top 130, with the fourth and final single release from their A New Flame album (number 2, August 1989).  If not for my dad owning the album on cassette (and being subjected to it on the car tape deck), I would not have heard this song before; so a lack of promotion was probably a factor in its poor chart showing.  The single performed better in the band's native UK, though still flopped, peaking at number 46 in November 1989.  "You've Got It" peaked at number 14 in Ireland in October 1989, but was not a hit anywhere else.  Simply Red front man Mick Hucknall co-wrote the song with Lamont Dozier, one third of Motown's songwriting and production powerhouse Holland-Dozier-Holland - not that it helped save "You've Got It" from being rather dull and unexciting.

"You've Got It" performed strongest on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart, where it peaked at number 92.  The single also peaked higher, at number 80, on the Australian Music Report singles chart.

We shall next see Simply Red in 1992.

Number 146 "Heading West" by Cyndi Lauper

Peak: number 117

Peak date: 15 January 1990

Weeks in top 150: 10 weeks

Weeks on chart: 11 weeks

Poor Cyndi had not had much chart success with the post-"I Drove All Night" singles from her A Night to Remember album.  On a rosier note, at least "Heading West" - the fourth and final single released from the album - peaked 28 places higher than the last one.  Like Simply Red, I never heard this one at the time - though remember seeing it in the shops, so lack of promotion probably hindered its success.

 

"Heading West" missed the top 100 on all of the state charts, though performed strongest on the Victoria/Tasmania chart, where it peaked at number 103.  Internationally, "Heading West" didn't do much better on any major chart, though peaked at number 68 in the UK in December 1989.  It seemed that, from this point onwards, Cyndi would struggle to achieve significant chart success, and would unfairly be relegated to being a relic of the 1980s.

Cyndi will join us next in 1992.

Next chart (8 January): After the Christmas/New Year's break, the ARIA chart resumes on 8 January, kicking off the 1990s with four new top 150 debuts and one bubbling WAY down under entry.  In 1990, we will see 272 singles peaking in the 101 to number 150 region of the chart, and (at the time of writing this) a further 29 singles debuting and peaking outside the top 150.  That's at least 301 songs I have to listen to and write about next year...

 

Thank you for reading my posts throughout the year, and I hope you have a safe and pleasant holiday season!  You can also follow my posts on instagram and facebook.

 

< Previous week: 11 December 1989                               Next chart: 8 January 1990 >

Week commencing 11 December 1989

Welcome to the second last chart for 1989.  This week, there are three top 150 debuts, and one bubbling WAY down under entry.  Let's take a look:

 

Skid Row: If the rock star thing didn't work out for Sebastian Bach, a promising career in shampoo commercials beckoned.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 133 "18 & Life" by Skid Row

Peak: number 126 

Peak date: 8 January 1990

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

 

We saw Skid Row back in July with their debut single, and here they were again with the second release from their Skid Row album (number 12, May 1990).  Debuting at number 156 on 9 October 1989, "18 & Life" took nearly two months to crack the top 150, and would take almost another month to reach its peak, on 8 January 1990.  The single also had a minor resurgence following the success of the band's third single, "I Remember You" (number 12, May 1990), re-entering the chart in June 1990 and climbing back to number 144.  None of "18 & Life"'s five weeks in the top 150 were consecutive, and the single was still charting in late July 1990.  Despite all of this, "18 & Life" only managed to notch up eight weeks on the chart.

"18 & Life" had much greater success in the band's native America, where it reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1989, becoming their first major hit.  In the UK, the single peaked at number 12 in February 1990.

"18 & Life" tells the tale of wayward teen 'Ricky', who is sentenced to life imprisonment after accidentally killing another teen with a firearm while in a drug/alcohol-induced haze.

We shall see Skid Row again in 1991.

 

 

 

Number 135 "Comment Te Dire Adieu" by Jimmy Somerville featuring June Miles Kingston

Peak: number 122

Peak date: 22 January 1990

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks 

Weeks on chart: 9 weeks

Jimmy Somerville was the falsetto-voiced singer in Bronski Beat (biggest hit during his tenure with the group: "Smalltown Boy" - number 8, August 1984) and The Communards (biggest hit: "Don't Leave Me This Way" - number 2, November 1986).  His solo career yielded much less success on the Australian chart, with his biggest hit locally being "Dark Sky", which peaked at number 62 in February 1998.

"Comment Te Dire Adieu" (French translation: how to say goodbye to you) was Jimmy's first solo release... well, if you ignore that it was a duet with June Miles Kingston, who was the drummer in The Communards.  The single was a French-translated cover version of the Margaret Whiting song "It Hurts to Say Goodbye", and was originally recorded by Françoise Hardy in 1968.  The track was lifted from Jimmy's Read My Lips album (number 114, January 1990).

 

"Comment Te Dire Adieu" was a success in Jimmy's native UK, where it peaked at number 14 in December 1989.  The single also peaked at number 3 in Ireland and France.

 

On the ARIA state charts, "Comment Te Dire Adieu" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 89.

We will next see Jimmy in 1991.

Number 144 "Name and Number" by Curiosity Killed the Cat

Peak: number 131

Peak date: 29 January 1990

Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

 

While Curiosity Killed the Cat (later known as just Curiosity) had reasonable success in the UK, where they racked up three top 10 hits between 1986 and 1992, they never quite took off in Australia.  In fact, only two of their singles dented the top 100, and the biggest of those, "Down to Earth", peaked at number 88 in June 1987.  "Name and Number" was the lead single from the band's Getahead album (number 136, April 1990), and peaked at number 14 on the UK singles chart in October 1989.

While you may not be familiar with this track, you've no doubt heard the "Hey, how you doin'?" chorus before, which was recycled on De La Soul's "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" (number 4, July 1991) after some slight tweaking of the lyrics.

We shall see Curiosity Killed the Cat again in 1992, albeit under a different name.

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 163 "Superheroes" by The Firm

Peak: number 163

Peak date: 11 December 1989

Weeks on chart: 1 week 

 

The Firm scored a novelty hit in 1987 with "Star Trekkin'", which reached number 1 in the UK in June 1987, and number 3 in Australia in October of the same year.  "Superheroes" was released as the follow-up - at least in the UK - where it flopped, peaking at number 99 in September 1987.  In Australia, "Superheroes" was not released as a single until November 1989.  I am not sure why it took more than two years for the single to receive a release locally, but I am guessing that perhaps the record company were hesitant to release it in 1987 after it's poor chart performance in the UK, and felt now was the right time to release it, given the general popularity of the Batman movie in 1989.  Batman does get a mention in this song.

Like "Star Trekkin'", the music video for "Superheroes" is another clay animation production.  Both tracks were lifted from the album Serious Fun (number 81, March 1988), which - surprisingly, given it charted here - missed the top 100 in the UK.

Next week (18 December): The final chart for 1989, and the decade.  There are six top 150 debuts - among them is a band who scored a number 1 single only a few months ago, and an 80s icon who seemed to be struggling with her most-recent releases.  You can also follow my posts on instagram and facebook.

 

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