Two of the three singles bubbling under the top 100 this week in 1983 are follow-ups to the artists in question's biggest hits in Australia. The other is a song that doesn't appear to have charted anywhere else. Let's take a look at them.
Supertramp: when I was young it seemed this band was always on the radio.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 3 "My Kind of Lady" by Supertramp
Highest rank: 3rd
Peak date: 7 March 1983
Weeks on below list: 2 weeks
English rock band Supertramp formed in 1969. At this point in 1983, they had placed five singles on the Australian top 100, with "It's Raining Again" (number 11, December 1982) being the highest-peaking of those. I recall Supertramp's "Dreamer" (number 47, November 1975) and "The Logical Song" (number 16, June 1979) still being radio staples in the early 1980s.
"My Kind of Lady" was the second single lifted from Supertramp's seventh studio album ...Famous Last Words (number 2, November 1982). Internationally, the single peaked at number 74 in Germany in March 1983.
Position 5 "Last Night (I Didn't Get to Sleep at All)" by The Reels
Highest rank: 4th
Peak date: 14 March 1983
Weeks on below list: 3 weeks
Australian band The Reels formed in 1976. At this point in 1983, they had placed seven singles on the Australian top 100, with "This Guy's in Love (With You...)" (number 7, December 1982) being their biggest hit.
"Last Night...", a cover version of a song originally recorded by The 5th Dimension, was the second and final single lifted from The Reels' third studio album Beautiful (number 32, January 1983).
We shall see The Reels next in 1985. I have written about them previously in 1989 and 1991.
Position 9 "Give Me the Good News" by Crocodile Harris
Highest rank: 9th
Peak date: 7 March 1983
Weeks on below list: 1 week
Crocodile Harris was the stage name of South African singer Robin Graham. Crocodile Harris never landed a top 100 charting single or album in Australia. "Give Me the Good News" was lifted from the album of the same name.
I cannot find evidence of this single charting elsewhere, even in South Africa!
Robin Graham passed away in 2015.
Next post (18 April): One new entry bubbling under the top 100.
The two new entries bubbling under the top 100 this week in 1983 are, in some ways, from a different time, with one being a single originally released in 1980, and the other portraying the singer with a prominent 70s moustache in the music video. Shall we take a look?
Joan Jett: she don't give a damn about her bad chart positions.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 9 "Be My Lady" by Jefferson Starship
Highest rank: 2nd
Peak date: 14 March 1983
Weeks on below list: 3 weeks
I have written about Starship and Jefferson Airplane previously. Under the Jefferson Starship name, the group only scored one Australian top 100 single, with "Jane" (number 72, March 1980).
"Be My Lady" was the lead single from Jefferson Starship's seventh studio album Winds of Change. Internationally, the single peaked at number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 1982.
I hadn't heard this one before. Singer Mickey Thomas is sporting a striking moustache in the video.
Position 11 "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Highest rank: 11th
Peak date: 28 February 1983
Weeks on below list: 1 week
American rock singer Joan Jett and her band The Blackhearts burst onto the Australian chart in 1982 with their version of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (number 1, May 1982). They followed it up with further hits "Crimson and Clover" (number 6, August 1982) and "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" (number 18, November 1982).
"Bad Reputation" was the title track of Joan's 1980 debut album Bad Reputation (number 45, December 1982), which was released under the name of just Joan Jett. Previous single "Do You Wanna Touch Me..." was also lifted from this album - I assume the record company decided to promote this earlier release to cash in on Joan's newfound success.
"Bad Reputation" does not appear to have charted anywhere else.
One thing this week in 1983's new entries bubbling under the top 100 have in common is that it would be the last time we see the artists in question in this region of the chart. Shall we take a look?
Roxy Music: there wouldn't be more after this one on the Australian chart.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 6 "Take a Chance with Me" by Roxy Music
Highest rank: 6th
Peak date: 14 February 1983
Weeks on below list: 1 week
Between 1972 and 1982, English band Roxy Music placed ten singles on the Australian top 100 chart, with their version of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" going all the way to number one for four weeks in May-June 1981.
"Take a Chance with Me" was the third and final single lifted from the band's eighth and last studio album Avalon (number 1, July 1982). It followed "More Than This" (number 6, July 1982) and "Avalon" (number 22, October 1982).
Internationally, "Take a Chance with Me" peaked at number 5 in Ireland in September 1982, number 26 in the UK in October 1982, number 20 in the Netherlands in October 1982, number 12 in the Flanders region of Belgium in October 1982, and number 68 in Germany in November 1982.
Roxy Music split in 1983. We will see Roxy Music front man Bryan Ferry bubble under in 1986, and have seen him do so in 1989.
Position 11 "Angry Words" by Glenn Shorrock
Highest rank: 11th
Peak date: 14 February 1983
Weeks on below list: 1 week
Australian singer Glenn Shorrock is best known for fronting Little River Band during their most commercially-successful period, singing lead on their biggest hit "Help Is on the Way" (number 1, June 1977). While still part of the band, Glenn landed a solo hit in 1979 with "Dream Lover" (number 8, June 1979). He quit Little River Band in February 1982, though returned in 1988.
"Angry Words" was the second and final single from Glenn's solo debut album Villain of the Peace (number 32, November 1982). It followed "Rock 'N' Roll Soldier" (number 39, November 1982).
Glenn would land another solo top 10 hit later in 1983 with the Australia's Cup-inspired "We're Coming to Get You" (number 6, October 1983).
Next post (28 February): Two new singles bubbling under the top 100.
Welcome to my 1983 recaps of the Kent Music Report 'singles receiving significant sales reports beyond the top 100' lists.
1983 was the year I started kindergarten, which in my state is the year before you commence primary school (it is known as pre-school in some other states). Judging by the few photographs I have of myself at kindergarten, I was clearly not enjoying the experience, as I look so incredibly unhappy in all of them. Or maybe I just hated posing for photographs from an early age... I was also page boy at my uncle's wedding in early 1983 - another thing I hated doing, evident from the photographs.
Although it would still be a few years before I started following music and charts, 1983 was kind of the first year I took notice of the songs that radio were playing frequently.
Phil Collins couldn't break through the wall into the top 100 with this release.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 2 "Thru' These Walls" by Phil Collins
Highest rank: 1st
Peak date: 14 February 1983
Weeks on below list: 2 weeks
English singer-songwriter Phil Collins came to fame as part of the band Genesis. Phil launched his solo career in 1981 with the single "In the Air Tonight" (number 3, May 1981) and the album Face Value (number 2, June 1981).
Despite Phil's initial success with his solo career, he didn't land a second hit proper in Australia until 1983, with his version of The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love" (number 3, February 1983). Before then, "Thru' These Walls" was issued as the lead single from Phil's second solo album Hello, I Must Be Going! (number 15, March 1983).
"Thru' These Walls" was released in Australia in early November 1982, but took just over two months to bubble under the top 100. Its eventual peak was reached following the release of the next single, "You Can't Hurry Love".
Internationally, "Thru' These Walls" also underperformed, peaking at number 56 in the UK in October 1982, number 27 in Ireland, and number 48 in the Netherlands in November 1982.
Of course, Phil would go on to become a more-consistent hit maker during the 1980s and early 1990s.
Another week in 1982 with just one new entry bubbling under the top 100, this week also marks the last post of 1982. Let's take a look.
Haircut One Hundred missed the top 100 with this one.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 10 "Nobody's Fool" by Haircut One Hundred
Highest rank: 10th
Peak date: 1 November 1982
Weeks on below list: 1 week
English band Haircut One Hundred formed in London in 1980. They landed three Australian top 100 singles in 1982: "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" (number 97, March 1982), "Love Plus One" (number 10, June 1982), and "Fantastic Day" (number 85, August 1982). Their debut album Pelican West, from which these three singles were lifted, peaked at number 27 in Australia in June 1982. Nothing else the band released, however, would trouble the Australian top 100.
"Nobody's Fool" was released as an in-between albums single. Internationally, "Nobody's Fool" peaked at number 9 in the UK in September 1982, and number 10 in Ireland.
A 14 year-old Patsy Kensit, who would later go on to front Eighth Wonder, appears in the music video for "Nobody's Fool", embedded below.
Haircut One Hundred front man Nick Heyward left the band in late 1982, and embarked on a solo career. Nothing Nick released troubled the national top 100 in Australia, but his 1988 single "You're My World" peaked at number 71 on the ARIA Western Australia state chart in November 1988 (before the national chart was extended beyond number 100).
My favourite solo Nick track that I've heard is "Tell Me Why", which was released in Australia in April 1989 and I caught on rage as new release.
Nick's third solo album, 1988's I Love You Avenue, from which both "You're My World" and "Tell Me Why" are lifted, eventually charted in Australia... peaking at number 1388 in July 2017.
Next post(17 January): This week's post is the last one for 1982, as, unfortunately for us, the Kent Music Report beyond the top 100 list ranked in order of sales returned to an alphabetised list of 'Hit Predictions' (from which rankings cannot be determined) on 8 November 1982. The significant sales beyond the top 100 lists would return, however, in January 1983. When my Kent Music Report beyond the top 100 recaps return in January 2023, there'll be one new entry bubbling under the top 100.
Another week with just one new entry bubbling under the Australian top 100. Let's take a look.
Boys will be... flops.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 1 "Don't Say No" by Boys
Highest rank: 1st
Peak date: 25 October 1982
Weeks on below list: 1 week
During 1980 and 1981, Australian band Boys, who originated in Perth, placed three singles in the lower half of the top 100, with "When You're Lonely" (number 52, October 1980) being the highest-peaking of those. The band also placed two albums on the top 100.
"Don't Say No" was the lead single from the second and final Boys album Inside the Cage (number 91, November 1982).
Boys released another single, "Lonely Dreamers", which failed to chart, before the group split.
Next week (1 November): One new entry bubbling under the top 100.
Bubbling under the Australian top 100 singles chart this week in 1982, we have two acts who you might assume performed better on the Australian charts, and another act who I'd never heard of before. Shall we take a look?
Sheena Easton's machinery only operated spasmodically on the Australian chart.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 7 "Perpetual Motion" by Billy Miller & The Great Blokes
Highest rank: 7th
Peak date: 11 October 1982
Weeks on below list: 1 week
Billy Miller & The Great Blokes were, of course - with that band name, an Australian band. This is their only release listed on discogs.com, and they never troubled the Australian top 100. As seen in the embedded clip below, "Perpetual Motion" was performed on the iconic Australian music TV program Countdown - not that it helped this song to chart.
While I probably saw this performance on a repeat of Countdown aired during rage retro month, I have no recollection of it. The song is alright, if not great, and I could see it having become a top 40 hit if it had received adequate radio support.
Billy Miller had previously been the lead singer of the Australian band The Ferrets, who landed two Australian top 40 hits during the 1970s, with "Don't Fall in Love" reaching number 2 in September 1977. The Ferrets split in 1979.
Position 8 "Machinery" by Sheena Easton
Highest rank: 3rd
Peak date: 18 October 1982
Weeks on below list: 3 weeks
Scottish singer Sheena Easton landed a number one single in Australia with her first chart entry, "9 to 5 (Morning Train)", in April 1981.
As often seemed to be the case with artists in the early 1980s - particularly female ones - one minute you could be on top of the charts, and 6 to 18 months later, you could be flopping big time... only to then bounce back (usually temporarily) a couple of years later! Sheena Easton's chart career in Australia followed this up-and-down trajectory.
While Sheena landed another top 10 hit locally with her Bond-theme "For Your Eyes Only" (number 6, February 1982), nothing from her second album You Could Have Been with Me charted in Australia. "Machinery" was lifted from Sheena's third studio album Madness, Money & Music, which missed the top 100 locally.
Internationally, "Machinery" peaked at number 38 in the UK in August 1982, number 29 in Ireland in August 1982, number 48 in the Netherlands in September 1982, number 15 in Sweden in September 1982, number 18 in Austria in September 1982, number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in September 1982, number 28 in the Flanders region of Belgium in October 1982, and number 6 in Norway.
Sheena would next bubble under on the Australian chart in 1989, dueting with Prince, and on her own in 1991.
Position 10 "Let Me Tickle Your Fancy" by Jermaine Jackson
Highest rank: 3rd
Peak date: 25 October 1982
Weeks on below list: 2 weeks
As a solo artist, separate from The Jackson 5 and The Jacksons, Jermaine Jackson only achieved moderate success, with his highest-charting single "Let's Get Serious" (number 24, September 1980) denting the top 30.
"Let Me Tickle Your Fancy" was the lead single and title track from Jermaine's ninth studio album Let Me Tickle Your Fancy, which did not chart in Australia.
Internationally, "Let Me Tickle Your Fancy" peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in September 1982.
I have previously written about Jermaine bubbling under in 1989.
Next week (18 October): One new entry bubbling under the top 100.
This week in 1981, there were seven new songs bubbling under the Australian top 100 that could not make their way onto the chart. Let's take a look at them.
Carole Bayer Sager was moving out of the top 100 in 1981.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 27 "Spellbound" by Siouxsie & The Banshees
Highest rank: 17th
Peak date: 21 September 1981
Weeks on below list: 3 weeks
British band Siouxsie & The Banshees, led by Siouxsie Sioux (real name Susie Ballion), formed in 1976. The group landed two top 40 singles in Australia, 12 years apart, with "Hong Kong Garden" (number 38, September 1979) and "Kiss Them for Me" (number 40, September 1991). Only one other Siouxsie & The Banshees single troubled the Australian top 100 - "Dear Prudence" (number 44, January 1984).
"Spellbound" was the lead single from Siouxsie & The Banshee's fourth studio album Juju, which did not chart in Australia. Internationally, the single peaked at number 22 in the UK in June 1981, and at number 47 in New Zealand in August 1981.
Siouxsie & The Banshees will next join us in 1989.
Position 28 "She Made a Monkey out of Me" by Allniters
Highest rank: 8th
Peak date: 5 October 1981
Weeks on below list: 5 weeks
Sydney ska band Allniters formed in 1980. "She Made a Monkey out of Me" was the band's first single. The track did not appear on their debut album D-D-D-Dance (number 18, October 1983), though made its way onto the compilation Rarities & B-Sides.
Allniters' commercial breakthrough came in 1983, when their fourth single "Hold On" peaked at number 40 in May of that year. Their next single, a cover version of Bobby Bloom's "Montego Bay", peaked at number 19 in October 1983, becoming Allniters' biggest hit.
We shall next see Allniters in 1984.
Position 31 "One Track Mind" by The Swingers
Highest rank: 7th
Peak dates: 28 September 1981 and 5 October 1981
Weeks on below list: 7 weeks
New Zealand band The Swingers formed in 1979. Led by Phil Judd, who was a founding member of Split Enz, The Swingers landed the best-charting single of 1981 (the Kent Music Report-era year-end charts were based on chart runs rather than sales) in Australia with "Counting the Beat", which spent three weeks at number 1 in March 1981.
"One Track Mind" was the third and final single from The Swingers' only album Practical Jokers (number 70, October 1981). The single peaked at number 27 in New Zealand in October 1981.
The Swingers split in 1982. Two of the original band members, Buster Stiggs (real name Mark Hough) and Bones Hillman (real name Wayne Stevens) have since died from cancer, in 2018 and 2020, respectively, aged 63 and 62. Bones went on to join Midnight Oil in 1987.
Position 33 "Anyone Who Had a Heart" by Gillian Eastoe
Highest rank: 22nd
Peak date: 21 September 1981
Weeks on below list: 3 weeks
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, "Anyone Who Had a Heart" was originally recorded by Dionne Warwick in 1963. This version, performed by Australian singer Gillian Eastoe, was Gillian's only single to (almost) chart in Australia. Gillian later went on to record several children's albums for the ABC.
Position 34 "Stronger Than Before" by Carole Bayer Sager
Highest rank: 24th
Peak date: 14 September 1981
Weeks on below list: 2 weeks
Speaking of Burt Bacharach, American singer-songwriter Carole Bayer Sager was married to him between 1982 and 1991!
Carole scored a major hit in Australia with "You're Moving out Today", which was number 1 for four weeks in September-October 1977. "You're Moving Out Today" was more-successful in Australia than in any other country. While two other singles of hers dented the Australian top 100, neither of these peaked higher than number 82.
Carole may not have had an enduring solo recording career of her own, but she shares writing credits on many songs that became big hits for other artists. Among them are Christopher Cross' "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)" (number 13, December 1981), Carly Simon "Nobody Does It Better" (number 8, February 1978), Phil Collins' "A Groovy Kind of Love" (number 2, October 1988), and Dionne Warwick & Friends' "That's What Friends Are For" (number 1, March 1986) - to name but a few!
"Stronger Than Before" was lifted from Carole's third and final solo studio album Sometimes Late at Night. I cannot find evidence of the single charting elsewhere.
Position 36 "Don't Call Us" by The Eighty Eights
Highest rank: 20th
Peak date: 28 September 1981
Weeks on below list: 5 weeks
The Eighty Eights were an Australian band, formed in Newcastle in New South Wales. The band placed one single on the Australian top 100, "(She Fell in) Love with James Bond" (number 82, June 1981). Larry Van Kriedt, who performed vocals and played guitar for the band, was the original bass player for AC/DC in 1973-4.
"Don't Call Us", produced by Dragon's Todd Hunter, was the band's third single. It appears on their only album Top of the World (number 79, September 1981).
Unfortunately, there is nowhere to listen to this song - which I have not heard before - online that I could find.
Position 37 "Missing Person" by Mi-Sex
Highest rank: 2nd
Peak dates: 28 September 1981 and 5 October 1981
Weeks on below list: 9 weeks
New Zealand band Mi-Sex formed in 1978. Their second single, "Computer Games", went to number 1 in Australia for one week in November 1979. Between 1979 and 1984, Mi-Sex placed 11 singles on the Australian top 100. My favourite Mi-Sex single is, of course, one that did not chart - or even make the bubbling under list - in Australia, "5 O'Clock (In the Morning)", which was released locally in May 1984.
"Missing Person" was the second single from Mi-Sex's third album Shanghaied (number 28, November 1981). It followed "Falling in and out" (number 20, July 1981). "Missing Person" did not chart elsewhere.
Mi-Sex front man Steve Gilpin died in January 1992, aged 42, after spending seven weeks in a coma following a car accident in November 1991, while driving home from a gig.
Next week (14 September): This post concludes my 1981 Kent Music Report beyond the top 100 chart recaps. You can read my post for the next week, which I wrote in 2021, here.
This week forty years ago, there was only one single bubbling under the Australian top 100 chart. Let's take a look at it.
The Belle Stars: seven members, and two Australian hits seven years apart.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 7 "Iko Iko" by The Belle Stars
Highest rank: 5th
Peak date: 20 September 1982
Weeks on below list: 2 weeks
This single peaked at number 7 in Australia in June 1989 when re-released, spending 25 weeks on the chart.
British all-female band The Belle Stars formed from the remnants of The Bodysnatchers in 1980. The seven-piece band were signed to Stiff Records, who had Madness, Kirsty MacColl and Elvis Costello on their roster, among others. The band's debut single "Hiawatha" was released in 1981, but The Belle Stars did not receive their first taste of chart success until their version of James "Sugar Boy" Crawford and His Cane Cutters' "Jock-A-Mo" from 1953, re-titled "Iko Iko", crept into the UK top 40 in June 1982, peaking at number 35 during the same month. The 1982 release of "Iko Iko" also peaked at number 35 in New Zealand in August 1982.
The Belle Stars' real commercial breakthrough came, however, with their next single - another cover version - "The Clapping Song", which peaked at number 11 in the UK in August 1982. "The Clapping Song" did even better in Australia, reaching number 4 in February 1983.
Another cover, "Mockingbird", followed, before the group finally landed a hit with an original composition, "Sign of the Times". "Sign of the Times" became The Belle Stars' biggest hit in their homeland, peaking at number 3 in the UK in February 1983. In Australia, "Sign of the Times" was only a minor hit, reaching number 45 in June 1983.
Seeming to always prefer the flops, my favourite Belle Stars tracks are two singles that did just that: "The Entertainer" (not released in Australia, but peaked at number 95 in the UK in November 1983) and "World Domination" (released locally in September 1986, did not chart). The group had been pared back to a trio by the time of "World Domination", which was their final release of new material. The Belle Stars split soon afterwards.
During their tenure, The Belle Stars only released one album The Belle Stars (number 76, April 1983). Although somewhat 'iconic', Stiff Records are now kind of known for... stiffing their artists, and it looks like that happened with The Belle Stars career.
"Iko Iko" found a second lease of life when it was used in the opening scene for the 1988 movie Rain Man, starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. The track appeared on the soundtrack for the movie, and was given a single release. A music video was also filmed to promote the re-issue; something that had not happened for the 1982 release of the single. However, only the band's lead singer Jennie Matthias appears in the 1989 video for "Iko Iko" (embedded below), alongside four female backing dancers.
Interestingly, the few TV performances of "Iko Iko" I could find on YouTube for the 1982 release were all actually live. The one I've linked here is my favourite.
The 1989 release of "Iko Iko" was a smash hit in Australia, peaking at number 7 in June 1989. On the state charts, "Iko Iko" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 4. Interestingly, the single peaked within the top 10 on all of the ARIA state charts, other than South Australia/Northern Territory, where it only reached number 32. I wonder what happened there.
Internationally, "Iko Iko" peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in May 1989, number 6 in Switzerland in May 1989, number 13 in Austria in June 1989, number 30 in Germany in June 1989, number 98 in the UK in June 1989, and number 5 in New Zealand in June 1989.
I may have mentioned before in my posts that, despite being a music video aficionado, I am really not a movie buff at all. I hadn't seen Rain Man until quite recently, catching a repeat of it on TV.
While I like The Belle Stars' rendition of "Iko Iko", one thing that bugs me slightly about it is that they sing (at least, to my ears) "check-a-mo fee-na-nay", rather than "jock-a-mo", which is what all of the online lyrics have. I cannot, for the life of me, hear "jock"!
Next post (11 October): Due to all of the bubbling under singles eventually making their way into the top 100 over the next four weeks, there will not be another 1982 post until 11 October, when there are two new entries. See you then.
This week in 1981, there was only one new single bubbling under the top 100 that did not eventually break through into the top 100. Let's take a look at it.
Serious Young Insects did not 'bug' the top 100 with this track.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 13 "Trouble Understanding Words" by Serious Young Insects
Highest rank: 1st
Peak date: 7 September 1981
Weeks on below list: 6 weeks
Melbourne band Serious Young Insects formed in 1980. The group consisted of Peter Farnan - who went on to form Boom Crash Opera - on vocals and guitar, Michael Vallance on vocals and bass guitar, and Mark White on vocals and drums.
The trio released three singles and an album Housebreaking. Only one of the band's releases, the single "Be Patient" (number 63, July 1982), entered the Australian top 100.
Another future member of Boom Crash Opera, Richard Pleasance, joined the group briefly before it dissolved in 1983.
Next week (7 September):The final 1981 chart recap (before I catch up to where I started last September) goes out with a bang, with seven new singles bubbling under the top 100.
As I wrote on my last Kent Music Report beyond the top 100 chart recap for 1981, the 'singles receiving significant sales reports beyond the top 100' list did not re-commence as a list ordered by sales rank in 1982 until August. This week, 40 years ago, there was just one title on this list that did not end up making its way into the top 100. Let's take a look at it.
Joel Diamond and 'friends': the music is not nearly as interesting as this picture would suggest.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 7 "Super-Strauss" by Joel Diamond
Highest rank: 7th
Peak date: 30 August 1982
Weeks on below list: 3 weeks
If I am being brutally honest, as good as the 1980s were, musically and culturally, there was also a lot of... crap music around. And while this instrumental medley of several classical music pieces from American producer Joel Diamond is technically musically proficient, what on earth is it doing (almost) troubling the Australian singles charts in 1982?! Joel otherwise never landed a chart entry in Australia under his own name.
Next week (6 September): Another week with only one new entry bubbling under the top 100; this time, with a song that would (very) belatedly go on to become a hit.
The absence of new entries bubbling under the top 100 last week is certainly made up for this week in 1981, with seven new ones. Shall we take a look?
Janis Ian flew too low on the Australian chart this week in 1981.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 14 "The Cube" by Mike Brady and The Cubettes
Highest rank: 3rd
Peak date: 14 September 1981
Weeks on below list: 6 weeks
English-born Australian singer-songwriter Mike Brady is most famous for writing the Australian (or Victorian, as it was then known) Football League anthem "Up There Cazaly" (number 1, August 1979), which he recorded with Peter Sullivan as one half of the imaginatively-titled The Two-Man Band.
When it came to Mike's own solo career, his biggest 'hit' was "You're Here to Win", which peaked at number 49 in October 1982 and was another sporting song, written for the 1982 Commonwealth Games.
Unlike those two songs, "The Cube" is not a sporting song, but is instead a song about... the Rubik's Cube. Originally known as the Magic Cube, Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and architect Ernő Rubik. The 'cube' was a popular child's toy in the early 1980s, and I had one, though never learnt how to solve it.
Position 16 "Me No Pop I" by Kid Creole & The Coconuts present Coati Mundi
Highest rank: 15th
Peak date: 31 August 1981
Weeks on below list: 2 weeks
We saw American band Kid Creole and The Coconuts bubble under in 1990.
"Me No Pop I" was a non-album track. Internationally, the single peaked at number 32 in the UK in July 1981, number 48 in the Netherlands in August 1981, and number 37 in the Flanders region of Belgium in September 1981.
Position 25 "Under the Covers" by Janis Ian
Highest rank: 4th
Peak dates: 5 October 1981 and 12 October 1981
Weeks on below list: 9 weeks
Between 1975 and 1980, American singer-songwriter Janis Ian placed four singles on the Australian top 100 chart, with "Fly Too High" (number 7, April 1980) being the biggest of those. Curiously, the disco-tinged "Fly Too High" was a bigger hit in Australia than most other countries, and did not even chart in Janis' homeland. Janis' second-biggest hit in Australia, "At Seventeen" (number 23, September 1975) had more of an acoustic sound, in contrast to "Fly Too High".
"Under the Covers" was the lead single from Janis' twelfth studio album Restless Eyes (number 57, August 1981), and on it, she returned to a more easy-listening sound.
"Under the Covers" peaked at number 71 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 1981. The single would be Janis' last to (almost) chart in Australia.
Position 30 "Just Like Belgium" by Elton John
Highest rank: 15th
Peak dates: 14 September 1981 and 21 September 1981
Weeks on below list: 5 weeks
At this point in 1981, English singer-songwriter Elton John had placed 31 singles on the Australian top 100, in the space of just ten years. Elton's duet with Kiki Dee, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", was the biggest of the lot, going all the way to number one, for one week, in August 1976.
"Just Like Belgium" was the second single lifted from Elton's fifteenth studio album The Fox (number 2, July 1981), following "Nobody Wins" (number 46, July 1981).
Despite peaking at number two in Australia, The Fox was a relative flop era in Elton's career, with none of the album's singles making the top 40 in the UK. "Just Like Belgium" did not even chart in the UK, or anywhere else that I can ascertain.
Growing up in the 80s, Elton John's music was all over the radio - at least in Australia, where it was literally inescapable. It is quite surprising to me, then, that he had such a massive flop.
We will next see Elton in 1993.
Position 32 "Jericho" by The Numbers
Highest rank: 9th
Peak dates: 7 September 1981, 21 September 1981 and 28 September 1981
Weeks on below list: 8 weeks
Australian band The Numbers were formed by siblings Annalisse and Chris Morrow in Sydney in 1978. The group placed two singles on the Australian top 100 chart in 1980, "The Modern Song" (number 47, June 1980) and "A Five Letter Word" (number 40, November 1980). Their debut album The Numbers peaked at number 29 in October 1980.
Credited as just 'Numbers' on the single sleeve, "Jericho" was the lead single from the band's second - and final - studio album 39-51 (number 94, June 1982), on which they were also credited as just 'Numbers'.
Annalise and Chris would go on to form the band Maybe Dolls, who landed a couple of moderate hits in the early 90s. We will see Maybe Dolls bubble under in 1992.
Position 34 "I Can't Sing Very Well" by Mother Goose
Highest rank: 21st
Peak date: 14 September 1981
Weeks on below list: 4 weeks
New Zealand band Mother Goose formed in Dunedin in 1975. During their tenure, the band placed two singles on the Australian top 100, with "Baked Beans" (number 29, October 1977) being their biggest hit.
The aptly-titled "I Can't Sing Very Well" was a non-album single. It failed to chart elsewhere.
Position 37 "Julia" by The Rick Wakeman Band
Highest rank: 17th
Peak date: 14 September 1981
Weeks on below list: 4 weeks
Rick Wakeman is best known as the keyboard player in English progressive rock band Yes, who landed a top 20 hit in Australia with "Owner of a Lonely Heart" (number 14, February 1984) - though Rick had temporarily left the band before that track was released.
"Julia", co-written with Tim Rice, is lifted from Rick's concept album 1984 (number 10, August 1981), which was inspired by George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Vocals on the track are performed by Chaka Khan.
I cannot find evidence of "Julia" charting elsewhere. This was Rick's only single to (almost) chart in Australia.
Two of the three new entries bubbling under the Australian top 100 this week in 1981 were form solo artist collaborating with others, while the other song is from an artist who had previously been in bands going solo. Let's take a look.
Graham Bonnet: it was all over, baby blue for his Australian chart career with this release.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 31 "Night Games" by Graham Bonnet
Highest rank: 31st
Peak date: 10 August 1981
Weeks on below list: 1 week
Before launching a solo career in 1972, English rock singer Graham Bonnet was a member of The Marbles. He was also later in the bands Rainbow and the Michael Schenker Group.
Interestingly, Graham had more commercial success in this region of the globe with his solo releases than in his homeland. Graham's version of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" peaked at number 3 in both Australia and New Zealand, in November 1977 and February 1978, respectively. Graham went one better with "Warm Ride", which peaked at number 2 in Australia in August 1978. Surprisingly, neither of these singles charted in the UK. Graham only scored one other top 100 single in Australia, with "Danny" (number 79, February 1978).
Graham also landed two top 10 albums in Australia, with Graham Bonnet (number 7, November 1977) and No Bad Habits (number 6, September 1978). In contrast, neither of these albums charted in the UK, and Graham's highest-peaking solo album there only reached number 62.
"Night Games" was the lead single from Graham's third album Line-Up, which did not chart in Australia. Internationally, "Night Games" peaked at number 3 in Ireland, and number 6 in the UK in April 1981, where it was his first solo hit, and only solo single to trouble the top 50.
While none of his later releases charted in Australia, Graham continued to record music, with the Graham Bonnet Band's Day Out in Nowhere album being released earlier this year.
Position 37 "The Race Is On" by Dave Edmunds with The Stray Cats
Highest rank: 29th
Peak date: 24 August 1981
Weeks on below list: 2 weeks
Welsh musician Dave Edmunds is someone I am familiar with through catching the music video for his hit "Girls Talk" (number 9, November 1979) on rage during retro month in the late 2000s. When I saw that Dave had teamed up with Stray Cats (who don't actually have a 'The' at the start of their name, but do on the artwork for this release), I was surprised, as their music styles don't seem that similar to me. Stray Cats have made a couple of appearances to date on my late 80s/early 90s ARIA top 150 chart recaps, starting in 1989.
Overseas, "The Race Is On" peaked at number 34 in the UK in June 1981, and number 17 in Ireland. The track is a cover version of a song originally recorded by George Jones in 1964.
"The Race Is On" would be Dave's final single to (almost) chart in Australia.
Position 40 "G'day, Blue" by Slim Dusty and The Travelling Country Band
Highest rank: 12th
Peak date: 28 September 1981
Weeks on below list: 9 weeks
Australian country legend Slim Dusty, born David Gordon Kirkpatrick, spent two weeks at number one on the Australian singles chart with "Duncan" in February 1981. It is a bit surprising, then, to see Slim languishing outside the top 100 a mere 7 months later; although hit singles were never Slim's strength, with only one of his other releases, "G'day G'day" (number 37, September 1988), denting the top 40 during the 1970s and 1980s.
"G'day, Blue" was the opening track on Slim's Where Country Is (number 59, September 1981) album.
Slim passed away in 2003 from kidney cancer, aged 76.
Slim will join us again in 1986.
Next post (24 August): There are no new entries peaking below the top 100 next week, but in a fortnight's time, there are seven new entries bubbling under the top 100.
