I have no recollection of this one. An Australian melodic metal band, they remind me a little of Roxus. BB Steal will pay us another visit in 1992.
This one is new to me, too, but I quite like it. I only previously knew their 1988 single 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark', which peaked at number 44 three months prior. "Acting This Way", lifted from the Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (number 19, October 1988) album, peaked at number 203 (number 147) in the UK in February 1989. Locally, "Acting This Way" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 75 on the state chart. This would be the last single from The Robert Cray Band to chart in Australia, but they had a later top 150 albums with Midnight Stroll (number 54, October 1990) and Shame and a Sin (number 148, October 1993). Robert Cray solo had later-charting top 150 albums in Australia with I Was Warned (number 137, September 1992) and Some Rainy Morning (number 147, June 1995).
In Australia, Tanita is best-known for her arresting but somewhat morose-sounding "Twist in My Sobriety" (number 23, April 1989). So, it seems a little jarring to hear (and see, in the video below) her performing an upbeat, lighthearted number, with "Good Tradition". Funnily enough, it was this single that was Tanita's biggest hit in the UK, peaking at number 10 in August 1988, while "Twist..." could only manage number 22 in November 1988. Elsewhere, "Good Tradition" peaked at number 4 in Sweden in September 1988, number 46 in the Netherlands in September 1988, number 39 in the Flanders region of Belgium in October 1988, and number 10 in Ireland in October 1988.
Released more than five months' prior in Australia, "Good Tradition" may have been boosted on the chart due to "Twist in My Sobriety" debuting this week at number 140. "Good Tradition" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 69 on the state chart, failing to hit the top 100 on any other state chart. Tanita will be back in a few months' time with another top 150 smash.
She would undergo a name-change later in the year, but for now, Debbie Harry was back with a new single, from the movie Married to the Mob. Deb was last on the chart with "French Kissin' in the USA" (number 4, February 1987), which was a bigger hit in Australia than anywhere else.
I remember catching this one on (Australian) MTV as a new release. Poor Deb couldn't seem to gain much momentum with her solo releases, with Australia affording her just one hit per album/era, though that would change (slightly) in 1990 - and we were probably her biggest market. This in-between release, which didn't chart anywhere else, barely registered a blip.
On the state charts, "Liar, Liar" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 63.
We will next see Debbie, as Deborah, in 1990.
I didn't know this one at the time. I can't tell you much about Gail, other than she's American, and was in David Bowie's band for the last 20 years of his life. This song was biggest on the Vic/Tas state chart, where it reached number 69. It also peaked at number 78 (number 76 on the compressed chart) in the UK in September 1988.
Released in early October 1988, this cover version of an Aussie FM radio staple by Cold Chisel which peaked at number 4 in May 1982, was still bubbling under the top 100 almost four months later. It was lifted from The Reels' fourth and final studio album Neighbours (number 92, December 1988).
To my ears, this sounds like a bad, cheap, country muzak version of the original, but I'm sure some people like it. The Reels' last hit, in 1986, was also a cover version.
On the state charts, The Reels' version of "Forever Now" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 76.
They will be troubling the top 150 again in 1991.
Now this one was released way back on 11 July 1988, according to the weekly lists of new release titles that the Australian Music Report published at the time (before the advent of The ARIA Report). Somehow, it was still hanging around six months later. This single peaked at number 27 in the UK in August 1988, and number 86 in the Netherlands in September 1988.
Locally, "Happy Ever After" was much more popular in Western Australia, where it peaked at number 35 on the state chart, than anywhere else.
We shall next see Julia in 1992.
Another one I was unfamiliar with, this sounds like the kind of thing late 80s Australian radio would lap up. Vocally, he reminds me of a huskier Bryan Adams. Sadly, John died in March 2019.
John Kilzer previously charted in Australia with "Red Blue Jeans" (number 57, October 1988), which was his biggest 'hit' here. Both that single and this one are lifted from John's debut album Memory in the Making, which missed the ARIA top 150.
John will visit us again in 1992.
Siouxsie was last on the Australian charts in 1984, with "Dear Prudence" (number 44, January 1984). She'd have to wait until 1991 to score another (just) top 40 hit here, with "Kiss Them for Me" (number 40, September 1991). This one was released at the end of October 1988, so wasn't doing too badly to still be lingering around three months later.
Internationally, "Peek-a-boo" peaked at number 16 in the UK in August 1988, and number 18 in Ireland in August 1988.
Siouxsie and her gang will join us again in 1991.
Bubbling WAY down under:
Occasionally, I will mention singles peaking outside the top 150 that I am aware of; but it will be by no means a comprehensive list. From what I can gather, the Australian singles chart was calculated down to at least the low 180's some weeks in 1989, though I'm not sure how low it went, and it would have varied week by week. In November 1990, there's even one week where the singles chart stops at number 140.
Fraternal twin sisters T.Y. Tim and Total S (real names: Sandra and Samantha) released this slice of acid house meets rap-with-British-accents back in June 1988 in the UK, where it peaked at number 21 in July 1988. The single also peaked at number 15 in the Netherlands in August 1988, and number 28 in the Flanders region of Belgium in September 1988.
In Australia, "Heat It Up" was released in early November 1988. I remember seeing the music video a couple of times on rage, waiting for the top 50 segment to begin. As one of the YouTube commenters says, "Australia was stupid to ignore this." Indeed. Follow-up single "Wee Rule" gave them a top 10 hit in the UK, but did nothing locally.
Next week (6 February): a more sedate affair, with only eight new entries to talk about; one of which later went on to become the B-side of a massive number one single across the globe!
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I do remember "Twist In My Sobriety", well, just the title I suppose. "Top 150 smash"! Now that's a description I'd be proud to have. That Youtube comment regarding the Wee Papa Girl Rappers is indeed correct.
ReplyDeleteI had one of the biggest teenage crushes on Tanita Tikaram at the time - and she has aged magnificently. As has her music.
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