One unusual thing that this week's batch of singles peaking outside the top 100 have in common is that they all peaked during the same week - that being 26 October 1981. Let's take a look.
Pretenders would probably like to 'pretend' this song was a hit.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 35 "Dancing on the Floor (Hooked on Love)" by Third World
Highest rank: 8th
Peak date: 26 October 1981
Weeks on below list: 6 weeks
Third World formed in Jamaica in 1973. Only one of the band's singles, "Try Jah Love", charted in Australia, reaching number 55 in June 1982.
The band's biggest international hit, "Now That We Found Love", was a cover version of an O'Jays song. The 1978 single did not chart in Australia, but reached the top 10 in the UK and the Netherlands, went top 20 in the Flanders region of Belgium, and top 50 in the US. It also belatedly reached the top 40 in New Zealand in 1985.
"Dancing on the Floor (Hooked on Love)", lifted from the album Rock the World, equalled Third World's highest singles chart peak in the UK, reaching number 10 in July 1981.
Third World's lead singer William "Bunny Rugs" Clarke died from leukaemia in 2014, aged 65.
Position 38 "Day After Day" by Pretenders
Highest rank: 2nd
Peak date: 26 October 1981
Weeks on below list: 7 weeks
At this point in their career, Pretenders had placed five singles on the Australian singles chart, with the biggest of those being their Aussie chart debut, "Brass in Pocket" (number 2, May 1980).
"Day After Day" was the third single lifted from the album Pretenders II (number 18, November 1981). It followed "Talk of the Town" (number 55, November 1980) and "Message of Love" (number 15, May 1981). An EP titled Extended Play, containing both of these singles, peaked at number 29 on the singles chart in June 1981.
"Day After Day" also underperformed in the UK, peaking at number 45 there in September 1981 and becoming their first single to miss the top 40.
Two members of Pretenders, James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, died from drug-related causes in June 1982 and April 1983, respectively.
Pretenders would next bubble under on the Australian chart in 1989.
Position 44 "I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today" by The Crusaders and Joe Cocker
Highest rank: 23rd
Peak date: 26 October 1981
Weeks on below list: 4 weeks
American band The Crusaders formed in Houston, Texas, in 1952. They placed one single on the Australian chart, when "Street Life", featuring uncredited vocals from Randy Crawford, peaked at number 79 in March 1980.
"I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today", featuring guest vocalist Joe Cocker, peaked at number 97 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in October 1981, and number 61 in the UK during the same month.
This would be the last time Crusaders appeared on the Australian chart. Joe Cocker next bubbles under on the Australian Music Report, after ARIA took over as the 'official' chart, in 1988. Joe also bubbles under numerous times on the ARIA singles chart, starting in 1990.
Next week (12 October): Three singles bubbling below the top 100.
One thing all of this week's top 150-peaking entries have in common is that they spent at least 7 weeks in the top 150. This is slightly above both the average (5.32 weeks) and median (6 weeks) amount of time singles peaking within the 101-150 region of the chart that debuted in 1990 spent on the chart. Yes, I really calculated those stats for this week's post...
In case you were curious to know, the majority of singles peaking between number 101 and 150 on the ARIA singles chart in 1990 spent no more than one week in the top 150. Sixty-five, or 23.9%, of the year's 272 singles peaking within this region of the chart spent a solitary week in the top 150.
Enough of the stats lecture, let's look at this week's new entries:
Richard Marx probably wouldn't be 'satisfied' with his chart placing this week.
Top 150 debuts:
Number 114 "Anything I Want" by Kevin Paige
Peak: number 102
Peak date: 30 July 1990
Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks
Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Kevin Paige scored one top 50 hit in Australia, with his debut single "Don't Shut Me Out" (number 43, June 1990). The climb to number 43, however, was slow, taking 22 weeks to peak from its Australian release date of 15 January 1990. In the US, "Don't Shut Me Out" peaked at number 18 in November 1989, and it also reached number 6 in Sweden in March 1990.
"Anything I Want" was the second single lifted from Kevin Paige (number 129, June 1990), his only solo album release. Kevin, however, went on to record Christian music with his wife, Bethany Paige. "Anything I Want" peaked at number 29 in the US in March 1990.
Number 115 "What Are You Doing with a Fool Like Me" by Joe Cocker
Peak: number 115
Peak date: 16 July 1990
Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks
We have seen Joe bubble under twice already this year; first in January, and then in May.
"What Are You Doing with a Fool Like Me" was the lead single, and only one released in Australia, from Joe Cocker Live (number 17, October 1990). As the title of the album suggests, it was as a live recording of a concert Joe performed in Lowell, Massachusetts on 5 October 1989. However, two new studio tracks were recorded and tacked onto the album, of which this is one.
"What Are You Doing with a Fool Like Me" peaked at number 39 in Germany in June 1990, and at number 23 in Switzerland during the same month. The single did not chart in the US or the UK.
"What Are You Doing with a Fool Like Me" had an interesting chart run in Australia. After spending 7 consecutive weeks in the top 150, it dropped out, before re-entering for a single week on 10 September 1990, and again on 5 November 1990, almost 4 months after its debut.
Joe will join us next in 1992.
Number 144 "Children of the Night" by Richard Marx
Peak: number 120
Peak date: 30 July 1990
Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks
Weeks on chart: 8 weeks
"Children of the Night" was the fifth and final single issued from Richard Marx's second album Repeat Offender (number 1, September 1989). It followed "Satisfied" (number 20, July 1989), "Right Here Waiting" (number 1, September 1989), "Angelia" (number 32, November 1989), and "Too Late to Say Goodbye" (number 99, February 1990). The song was written about children who had run away from home.
In Richard's native US, "Children of the Night" was a much bigger hit, peaking at number 13 in June 1990. The single also peaked at number 54 in the UK in July 1990, and number 58 in Germany during the same month.
On the ARIA state charts, "Children of the Night" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 86.
Richard previously bubbled under in Australia with his debut single, "Don't Mean Nothing", which placed fourth on the Australian Music Report's list of singles receiving significant sales reports beyond the top 100 in November 1987.
Richard Marx would go on to score a second number 1 single in Australia with the haunting "Hazard" in July 1992. Interestingly, "Hazard" took 22 weeks to reach the top on the ARIA singles chart, debuting at number 154 and yo-yoing between number 101 and 115 for eight of its first eleven weeks on the chart.
Richard will join us again in 1994.
Number 146 "Every Time I Turn Around" by Little River Band
Peak: number 134
Peak date: 30 July 1990
Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks
Weeks on chart: 7 weeks
Australia's Little River Band previously bubbled WAY down under on the ARIA chart in June 1989. Before that, the group registered on the Kent Music Report's 'Hit Predictions' list in March 1982 with "Take It Easy on Me". The Hit Predictions list served a similar function to the later lists of singles receiving
significant sales reports beyond the top 100, but listed singles in alphabetical order by song title rather than ranking them in order of sales.
"Every Time I Turn Around" was the second single from the band's eleventh studio album Get Lucky (number 54, April 1990). It followed "If I Get Lucky", which peaked at number 75 on the ARIA singles chart in April 1990.
"Every Time I Turn Around" did not register on any other sales-based chart, but reached number 27 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. On the ARIA state charts, "Every Time I Turn Around" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it peaked at number 97.
This was Little River Band's last single to register on the Australian charts.
Bubbling WAY down under:
Number 172 "Touched by the Hand of Cicciolina" by Pop Will Eat Itself
"Touched by the Hand of Cicciolina" was the first single released from the band's third studio album Cure for Sanity (number 51, February 1991). I am guessing that the title is a play on New Order's "Touched by the Hand of God" (number 15, February 1988). Who is Cicciolina? Wikipedia says it's a name for Hungarian-Italian porn actress Ilona Staller. Prior to researching this post, I had assumed that maybe Cicciolina was the name of an Italian football (soccer) player, given the prominent theme of soccer in the music video, embedded below. The song is an unusual one, being largely instrumental.
Internationally, "Touched by the Hand of Cicciolina" peaked at number 28 in the UK in June 1990.
Within Australia, "Touched by the Hand of Cicciolina" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 146.
At the time of writing this entry (June 2024), the number 172 peak of "Touched by the Hand of Cicciolina" is the lowest peak I have for any single charting in Australia during 1990.
This week is the second in a three-way tie for the most top 150-peaking debuts in 1990, tied with 19 March 1990 and 17 September 1990, with ten new top 150 entries. Of the ten new debuts, six of them are at their peak position next week, which is an unusual occurrence. There are also three debuts that spent more than one week at their highest position. Seven of this week's debuting acts contain artists who are no longer with us. Let's take a look at them.
Somehow, Seal's 'killer' song flopped not once, but twice in Australia.
Top 150 debuts:
Number 131 "Counting Every Minute" by Sonia
Peak: number 118
Peak date: 28 May 1990
Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks
Weeks on chart: 10 weeks
"Counting Every Minute" was another Stock Aitken Waterman composition/production for Sonia, and another single of hers to flop in Australia, peaking one place higher than the last one, which we saw back in February. "Counting Every Minute" was also the fourth release from her then-yet-to-be-released-in-Australia album Everybody Knows (number 144, September 1990).
This single was also the fourth in a string of top 20 hits in the UK for the Liverpudlian songstress and future Eurovision Song Contest entrant, peaking at number 16 in April 1990. "Counting Every Minute" also dented the top 20 in Ireland, peaking at number 18. Within Australia, "Counting Every Minute" performed strongest on the Victoria/Tasmania state chart, where it reached number 88.
I'm not sure why, but 'single' (as in the chorus lyric "counting every single minute") has been omitted from the song's title, just as 'from' was omitted from the title of Sonia's "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" (number 29, October 1989). These little things bother me! I suppose you can understand 'from' being omitted from the title of the latter, though, as it is a longer title already.
Peak dates: 4 June 1990, 25 June 1990 and 9 July 1990
Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks
I am a little bit confused, and there doesn't seem to be a clear answer online (please help me out if you know), but Ecco Homo were an Australian collective of musicians, centred around Peter "Troy" Davies, who was a close friend of Richard Lowenstein, director of many INXS music videos. Over the years, Troy had appeared in a couple of film clips for other artists, including Flame Fortune's "Sex Symbol" (number 76, June 1985) and Frente!'s' "No Time" (number 50, March 1993).
I don't believe Troy performed much of the vocals on the two Ecco Homo singles released, however. The 'group' also contained Ollie Olsen - whose Max Q project was fronted by Michael Hutchence of INXS - Gus Till (who I think performed the majority of the vocals), Bill McDonald and Michael Sheridan.
Whatever Ecco Homo were, they managed to place one single within the ARIA top 100, "Motorcycle Baby" (number 66, March 1989), which featured Michael Hutchence and Sherine Abeyratne from Big Pig (who also performed vocals on the track) in the music video.
"New York, New York" was the second and final Ecco Homo release, and features Bono from U2 singing a few lines and appearing in the music video (!). U2's The Edge also performs on the track. Apparently, Bono and U2 happened to drop by the recording studio where Ollie Olsen and Michael Hutchence were jamming, after a live show in Melbourne; it was not a planned collaboration.
Despite featuring two members of U2, "New York, New York" flew under the radar, peaking outside the ARIA top 100. It did, however, manage to spend three non-consecutive weeks at its peak of number 110, which is not bad for a single that missed the top 100. "New York, New York" crept into the Australian Music Report top 100 singles chart, reaching number 85.
Big Fun were another Stock Aitken Waterman-produced act, consisting of Mark Gillespie, Phil Creswick, and Jason John (real name Jason Herbert). Although a trio, the group's vocals were mostly performed by Mark, with the other two providing occasional backing vocals, rather than singing in unison or sharing lead vocal duties. Yet we see all three of them mouthing the words to Mark's vocals in the videos... Hmmm.
Following a low-key single release in early 1989 with "Living for Your Love", Big Fun recorded a cover version of Carole King's "I Feel the Earth Move", produced by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow, the Stock Aitken Waterman Hit Factory 'B' team. Their version of "I Feel the Earth Move" was set to be released in the UK in June 1989, and a music video was filmed to promote it. However, it was pulled from released after Pete Waterman saw the favourable reaction the group were receiving from the audience on tour with the Hitman Roadshow (for SAW-related acts). Pete instead wanted to launch the group with a Stock Aitken Waterman-produced track - a cover version of The Jacksons' "Blame It on the Boogie". Martika, of course, released her own version of "I Feel the Earth Move" (number 2, January 1990) later in 1989.
Big Fun crept into the lower region of the Australian top 40 with "Blame It on the Boogie" (number 37, December 1989), and into the top 100 with "Can't Shake the Feeling" (number 97, February 1990). These singles, in contrast, peaked at numbers 4 and 8, respectively, in the UK.
"Handful of Promises" was the third release from the group's only album A Pocketful of Dreams (released in Australia in July 1990, failed to chart), and peaked at number 21 in the UK in March 1990. The album - which takes its title from a chorus lyric of "Handful of Promises" - performed much better in the UK, where it reached number 7 in May 1990, and sold over 100,000 copies.
On the state charts, "Handful of Promises" performed best in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it peaked at number 85.
As with Sonia above, this track makes use of the James Brown "woo! yeah!" sample throughout. Big Fun will join forces with Sonia for a charity single, which we will see in September.
The group released one final single from the album in the UK - but not in Australia - "Hey There Lonely Girl", which peaked at number 62 in the UK in August 1990. This track was originally recorded by Ruby and The Romantics as "Hey There Lonely Boy". Following this release, the group parted ways with Jive Records.
One thing that was kept hush at the time - so as to not potentially alienate their target teen/tween girl audience - was that Mark and Phil were a couple. The pair would later release a cover version of The Brothers Johnson's "Stomp!", minus Jason, as Big Fun II. Their version of "Stomp!" reached number 12 on the US Billboard Dance Chart in May 1994.
Something I didn't know until a few years ago is that Mark is originally from Australia! Someone I have been in contact with via a music
forum lived next door to Mark in Canberra when he was growing up. Small world...
Following the demise of Big Fun and Big Fun II, Jason went into music management, managing the likes of Geri Halliwell from the Spice Girls during her solo career. Mark and Phil split, and Phil became a painter and decorator, before running into some legal troubles involving drugs in 2017. I have no idea what Mark is doing these days.
Jason sadly passed away in Brazil in April 2019, aged 51, although there is not much information available about this.
Number 142 "54-46 (That's My Number)" by Partners Rime Syndicate
Peak: number 142
Peak date: 21 May 1990
Weeks in top 150: 1 week
Here's a track I had never heard of before getting hold of these below #100 charts. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you much about this song, other than the chorus is a reworked version of "54-46 Was My Number" by Toots & The Maytals, from 1969. I also cannot find evidence of this single charting elsewhere.
Number 143 "Dançando Lambada" by Kaoma
Peak: number 143
Peak date: 21 May 1990
Weeks in top 150: 1 week
I'm guessing you thought French-Brazilian band Kaoma were one-hit wonders with "Lambada" (number 5, April 1990), right? Well, they did manage to place a second single on the ARIA chart... at number 143. The song in question, which translates from Portuguese as 'dancing Lambada', also imaginatively contains 'lambada' in the title...
"Dançando Lambada" was a hit across Europe, reaching the top 10 in Switzerland, France and the Netherlands, and the top 20 in Germany, Austria, Ireland, and the Flanders region of Belgium. The single flopped in the UK, however, where it only reached number 62. According to Wikipedia (no supporting reference is cited), "Dançando Lambada" topped the Brazilian chart.
This would be the last chart entry for Kaoma in Australia. Vocalist Loalwa Braz was sadly murdered in Brazil in 2017, aged 63; her body was discovered inside a burnt-out car.
Number 144 "I Will Live for You" by Joe Cocker
Peak: number 134
Peak dates: 28 May 1990 and 11 June 1990
Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks
We saw the late Joe Cocker in January this year, and he returned to the 101-150 region of the Australian chart with this track, the third single from his One Night of Sin (number 32, October 1989) album. "I Will Live for You" does not appear to have charted anywhere else.
Joe will next join us in July, with a third single to peak in the 101-150 region of the ARIA chart in 1990.
Number 146 "Killer" by Adamski
Peak: number 112
Peak date: 2 July 1990
Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks
Weeks on chart: 9 weeks
As much as I like Sonia, I have to concede that this track is the best song debuting this week - in my opinion, anyway. It seems the record-buying public in the UK held a similar view, as this track stopped Kylie Minogue's iconic "Better the Devil You Know" from reaching number 1 there.
"Killer" spent 4 weeks on top of the UK singles chart, and 16 weeks in the top 40, which was quite a long chart run for a single there at this point time. "Killer" also topped the Flemish chart in Belgium, and was a top 5 hit in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Ireland. On this side of the globe, "Killer" nudged into the New Zealand top 30, peaking at number 29 there in August 1990.
In Australia, "Killer" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 62.
"Killer" started out as an instrumental track by keyboard whizz Adamski (real name Adam Tinley), originally titled "The Killer", as he felt it sounded like the soundtrack to a murder scene in a movie. Following a chance meeting with Seal (real name Henry Samuel) at a nightclub on New Year's Eve 1989, Seal was invited to lay down vocals to some of Adamski's instrumental tracks he had been playing as a DJ.
Although Seal sang and co-wrote the song, he is not credited as a featured artist, due to Adamski's record company wanting to promote the single as solely an Adamski release. Seal's working relationship with Adamski subsequently soured.
Seal would go on to have a successful solo career, placing two singles within the Australian top 10 - "Crazy" (number 9, April 1991), and "Kiss from a Rose" (number 1, August 1995). Adamski placed one single within the ARIA top 100, "The Space Jungle" (number 70, November 1990), on which he performed vocals.
The Adamski album in which "Killer" and "The Space Jungle" are lifted from, Doctor Adamski's Musical Pharmacy, peaked at number 144 in November 1990.
Seal would re-record "Killer" for his debut album Seal (number 22, June 1991). It was released as the album's fourth single, peaking at number 8 in the UK in November 1991, and number 95 in Australia in December 1991. Seal also recycled the "racism in among future kings can only lead to no good, and besides, all our sons and daughters already know how that feels" lyric from "Killer" in "Future Love Paradise" (number 46, July 1991).
"Killer" would eventually become a top 40 hit in Australia, when ATB released a version of it titled "Killer 2000" (number 33, March 2000).
British pop group Five Star were five siblings from the same family, all with the surname Pearson. The group placed 15 singles within the UK top 40 between 1985 and 1988, with six of those reaching the top 10. In Australia, it was a different story, with only "System Addict" (number 66, May 1986) registering within the top 100.
It is quite surprising, then, to see that "Treat Me Like a Lady" dented the top 150, particularly considering it only reached number 54 in their homeland, in March 1990.
"Treat Me Like a Lady" was the first single - and only Australian release - from the album Five Star.
The group would release another single in Australia, "Shine", in 1992, but it did not make the top 150.
Number 149 "Have a Heart" by Bonnie Raitt
Peak: number 149
Peak dates: 21 May 1990 and 28 May 1990
Weeks in top 150: 2 weeks
Weeks on chart: 3 weeks
Last week, Bonnie Raitt made her first appearance in the top 150, and here she is a mere week later with the third single from her Nick of Time (number 58, April 1990) album.
"Have a Heart" was a middling success for Bonnie in her native US, where it peaked at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1990. "Have a Heart" was the theme song for the 1990 movie Heart Condition, from which several clips are used in the music video below.
On the ARIA state charts, "Have a Heart" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 58.
Listening to this track for the first time as I write this, I can't help but hear a similarity in the backing music to James Reyne's "One More River" (number 22, August 1989), though I am sure it is coincidental.
Bonnie will join us next in 1994.
Number 150 "Message" by Go 101
Peak: number 131
Peak date: 28 May 1990
Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks
Australian band Go 101 scored minor success in 1988 when their debut single "Build It Up" reached number 55 in September 1988. Two further singles also made the ARIA top 100: "Room for Love" (number 88, March 1989) and "Jealous Heart" (number 66, November 1989).
"Message" was the fourth and final single from the band's only album Tempting Fate (number 73, November 1989). Interestingly, the song was titled "Message (To a Broken Heart)" on the album, but not on the single sleeve. The song was remixed for its single release, but only the album version, embedded below, is available on YouTube.
I didn't think I knew this song, but it sounds familiar listening to it as I write this week's post.
Bubbling WAY down under:
Number 159 "Moonlight on Water" by Laura Branigan
Peak: number 159
Peak date: 21 May 1990
Weeks on chart: 2 weeks
As hinted in the blurb for this week's post last week, the first album I ever bought was recorded by one of this week's debuting artists. The artist in question was Laura Branigan, and the album was Self Control (number 29, August 1984).
Between 1982 and 1988, Laura placed 9 singles within the Australian top 100, with 4 of those reaching the top 10. "Gloria" (number 1, February 1983) went all the way to number one, for 7 weeks, becoming the third best-charting single of 1983.
Laura's last single to reach the top 40 in Australia was "Spanish Eddie" (number 24, October 1985). Like many recording artists strongly associated with the 1980s, Laura struggled to achieve major commercial success once the 90s clocked over; although her chart career had been on the decline for most of the second half of the 80s.
"Moonlight on Water" was an exception to this usual pattern of others scoring hits with Laura's flops - instead, it was a cover version of a song originally released by Kevin Raleigh in 1989. Kevin's version peaked at number 81 in Australia in July 1989, and at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1989. The song was co-written by Steve Kipner, who co-wrote Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" (number 1, November 1981).
In Laura's native US, "Moonlight on Water" peaked 100 places higher than it did in Australia, at number 59, in April 1990, although it would be her last Billboard Hot 100 entry. Within Australia, "Moonlight on Water" performed strongest on the Western Australia state chart, where it reached number 132.
The album "Moonlight on Water" is lifted from, Laura Branigan, peaked at number 143 in Australia in June 1990. Although Laura would have no further ARIA singles chart success, two later albums charted in Australia: Over My Heart (number 151, September 1993) and Greatest Hits (number 476, October 2007).
Laura sadly died from a brain aneurysm in her sleep in 2004, aged 52.
Number 162 "Blue Period" by The Smithereens featuring Belinda Carlisle
"Blue Period" was issued as the second and final single in Australia from their third studio album 11 (number 96, April 1990). On this track, the band teamed up with Belinda Carlisle, whom we will see bubbling under on her own in October 1990.
Internationally, "Blue Period" peaked at number 99 in the UK in May 1990. On the state charts, "Blue Period" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 125.
This would be The Smithereens' final single to peak outside the top 100 in Australia. They would go on to land two further ARIA top 100 singles, with "Top of the Pops" (number 77, February 1992) and "Too Much Passion" (number 87, March 1992). Later charting albums in Australia from The Smithereens include Blow Up (number 68, February 1992), A Date with The Smithereens (number 210, July 1994) and The Smithereens Play "Tommy"! (number 1041, June 2009).
Number 165 "96 Tears" by The Stranglers
Peak: number 165
Peak date: 21 May 1990
Weeks on chart: 1 week
Between 1978 and 1986, English band The Stranglers placed five singles on the Australian top 100. Three of those made the top 40: "Golden Brown" (number 10, May 1982), "Skin Deep" (number 11, February 1985), and "Always the Sun" (number 21, March 1987). "Big in America" also bubbled under on the Kent Music Report's list of singles receiving significant sales reports beyond the top 100, reaching fifth place on the list in April 1987.
"96 Tears" was the lead single from The Stranglers' tenth studio album 10 (number 142, April 1990). The single reached number 17 in the UK in February 1990, and number 9 in Ireland during the same month.
I don't recall hearing this song before, and while I think it's OK (not brilliant), it's not a patch on "Always the Sun", which is one of my favourite songs of all time, even though I only know a few Stranglers singles. I've also had a crack at trying to play "Golden Brown" on the piano, not being in possession of a harpsichord.
A second and final single from 10, "Sweet Smell of Success", was issued in Australia in May 1990, but failed to chart. It did, however, peak at number 65 in the UK in April 1990.
Following the release of the compilation Greatest Hits 1977-1990, which oddly did not chart in Australia, the group were dropped by their record label. The band's lead singer, Hugh Cornwell, also quit the group. The Stranglers continued on, however, with new vocalist Paul Roberts on vocals.
Since it's extremely unlikely that I will be writing these chart recap posts once I get around to 2014 (2004 is probably a stretch, though you never know), I might as well reveal the spoiler now that The Stranglers had one later 'charting' single in Australia: "Peaches", which originally peaked at number 54 in February 1978, re-charted at number 947 (!) in April 2014. Yes, the chart is really calculated that low... and lower, in the digital era.
Next week (28 May): Next week we have six new top 150-peaking debuts, and three bubbling WAY down under entries.
One thing I can tell you about all of the songs I write about this week is that I didn't hear any of them at the time... and there are a few tragic stories about the artists in question! Let's take a look.
Natalie Cole: Wild women... sometimes take their time to peak, and sometimes they miss the top 150 altogether.
Released as the second single from Joe's One Night of Sin album (number 32, October 1989), following "When the Night Comes" (number 39, November 1989), "Fever" only charted in Australia and New Zealand, where it peaked at number 46 in February 1990.
We lost Joe Cocker in December 2014 from lung cancer, aged 70.
Joe will be a regular visitor to this region of the chart in the coming years, notching up no fewer than five singles that peaked between numbers 101 and 150 in the coming three years. We will see Joe again twice this year, with the next occasion being in May.
Number 136 "That's What They Always Say" by Chris Rea
Peak: number 123
Peak date: 5 February 1990
Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks
A quick aside - the title of this track, which I hadn't heard before, makes me think of Mary Roach's legendary American Idol audition, where she says "'that's what they always say in theatre" in response to someone saying 'break a leg' to her, before she entered the audition room. If you haven't seen that audition, it's worth checking out... Ah, bless Mary and her white flares.
Now onto the Chris Rea song. "That's What They Always Say" was the second single lifted from Chris's The Road to Hell album (number 35, November 1989), following "The Road to Hell (Part 2)" (number 78, November 1989). "That's What They Always Say" peaked at number 83 in the UK in December 1989, and number 35 in France in May 1990.
Sadly, 69 year-old Chris has endured a number of major health problems over the years, including multiple surgeries for pancreatic cancer, diagnosed in 2000, and a stroke in 2016. In a Daily Mirror article in 2014, Chris revealed that he takes thirty-four tablets and has seven injections a day, following the complete removal of his pancreas and part of his digestive tract.
Warrant first bubbled WAY down under in July 1989, and hadn't had much chart success in Australia with any of the singles from their debut album, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich (number 72, November 1989). "Heaven" was the biggest of the bunch, peaking at number 54 in October 1989. "Big Talk" had marginally more success in the band's native US, where it peaked at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1989.
On the state charts, "Big Talk" performed strongest on the Victoria/Tasmania state chart, where it peaked at number 70.
One notable thing about the music video for "Big Talk" is that the 'dirty rotten filthy stinking rich' record company fat cat type depicted on the album sleeve comes to life. The video is worth watching for that alone.
Warrant singer Jani Lane sadly passed away from acute alcohol poisoning in August 2011, aged 47. Jani was never comfortable with being known as "the 'Cherry Pie' guy" - after Warrant's biggest hit (number 6, January 1991), as evident in this interview on YouTube, in which he ominously says, "I could shoot myself in the f**king head for writing that song."
Poco are (they are still active, according to Wikipedia) an American country rock band formed in 1968 (!). Although I'd never heard of them before, they actually placed two singles on the Australian chart in the 1970s, with the biggest one being "Rose of Cimarron" (number 51, February 1977). They also had six charting albums in Australia between 1971 and 1980.
"Call It Love", as you might expect, performed much better in the US, where it peaked at number 18 in April 1989. Released in Australia on 6 November 1989, "Call It Love" took over two months to dent the top 150, where it spent two non-consecutive weeks at number 150. While it's not the usual sort of thing I listen to, I did enjoy the minor chord (or perhaps it's just a key change - I'm not quite musically-gifted enough to know for sure) guitar bridge leading into the chorus.
To my surprise, this song was also a hit of sorts in the Dutch-speaking world, peaking at number 20 in the Netherlands in November 1989, and number 38 in the Flanders region of Belgium (Belgium has two separate charts: one each for the Dutch and French-speaking regions) in December 1989.
"Call It Love" was lifted from the band's Legacy album (number 136, February 1990). Another single from the album, "Nothin' to Hide", was released locally in February 1990, but missed the top 150.
Bubbling WAY down under:
Number 162 "As a Matter of Fact" by Natalie Cole
Peak: number 162
Peak date: 22 January 1990
Weeks on chart: 1 week
Natalie's previous single, "Miss You Like Crazy" (number 34, October 1989), was a slow burner on the Australian chart, taking six weeks to crack the top 100, 13 weeks to break the top 50, and 20 weeks to reach its peak. Nat would perform a similar feat with subsequent single, "Wild Women Do" (number 37, September 1990), which took 5 weeks to crack the top 100, and 24 weeks to both break the top 50 and reach its peak.
Released as the second single from her Good to Be Back album (number 87, September 1989) in Australia, "As a Matter of Fact" had a much shorter chart life, spending just one week on the chart, outside the top 150. Curiously, the single took two months to dent the charts, being released locally on 20 November 1989. "As a Matter of Fact" failed to chart elsewhere.
Poor Nat had inconsistent success on the Australian charts, with each of her seven top 100 singles in Australia being from a different album. To add insult to injury, her 1988 single "Everlasting" made each of the state top 100 charts at different times in September-October 1988, but failed to dent the national top 100 (this was before ARIA extended the chart beyond number 100).
Unfortunately, Natalie is no longer with us, having passed away from heart failure at the end of 2015, aged 65.
Next week (29 January): Five new top 150 entries, including the belated appearance of the debut solo single from a new act who had a big hit on their hands, and one bubbling WAY down under debut. You can also follow my posts on instagram and facebook.
