Australian singles chart peaks beyond the top 100: A journey through flop.
03 April 2020
Week commencing 3 April 1989
Once again, I struggle to find a connection between this week's new entries, so let's just get on with the recap.
k.d. lang & Roy Orbison: Before k.d. was cravin' she was cryin'.
Top 150 debuts:
Number 108 "When I Grow Up" by Michelle Shocked
Peak: number 108
Peak date: 3 April 1989
Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks
Chart run: 108-118-119-114-127-136
Weeks on chart: 6 weeks
Michelle scored a number 51 'hit' in Australia in February 1989 with "Anchorage", and this was the follow-up release. Both singles were lifted from her Short Sharp Shocked album, which peaked at number 61 on the ARIA albums chart in February 1989. I remember seeing the music video for "When I Grow Up" when I first stayed up a little bit late to channel flick between MTV, rage, and Night Shift around 2-3 a.m. as a 10 year-old. A lyric that stuck with me from the song was "we're gonna have a hundred and twenty babies". These days, Michelle is probably more known for her homophobic statements than her music.
Internationally, "When I Grow Up" peaked at number 67 in the UK in March 1989. Locally, the single performed strongest in Queensland, where it reached number 76 on the state chart.
The only thing I reallly know about Stryper is that they're a Christian
(hair?) metal band. I remember seeing a TV commercial with them in it
circa 1987 and laughing at it with my sister. This is just another
typical overblown rock ballad 'metal' bands were churning out in the
late 80s.
Number 136 "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" by Judson Spence
Peak: number 133
Peak dates: 10 April 1989 and 1 May 1989
Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 136-133-135-136-133-143
Probably the only charting release to mention lima beans, I don't have
much to say about this release, except that his wikipedia page says it
was a top 40 hit - presumably in the US - in 1988 (the Billboardwebsite
is a bit crap these days for verifying such claims, and no source has
been cited). I can reliably tell you, however, that this single peaked
at number 31 in New Zealand in February 1989.
Number 146 "Cryin'" by Roy Orbison/k.d. lang
Peak: number 143 (1989 release); number 71 (1992 release)
Peak dates: 1 May 1989 (1989 release); 23 November 1992 (1992 release)
Weeks in top 150: 2 weeks (in 1989); 17 weeks (1989 and 1992 chart runs combined)
Weeks on chart: 21 weeks (1989 and 1992 chart runs combined)
Top 150 chart run: 146-(out for 3 weeks)-146
Re-entered5 October 1992: 119-93-78-96-92-80-75-71-78-93-90-(chart repeated for 2 week Xmas break)-107-107
This single originally bubbled under on the Australian Music Report
chart in April 1988, when it was ranked 13th, for one week, on the list
of 'singles receiving significant sales reports beyond the top 100'.
With the Big O passing away in December 1988, and being the flavour of
the month for much of 1989, the time was obviously ripe for a re-issue
of this duet with k.d. lang. The single would have greater success in
late 1992, however, when it was again re-issued and peaked at number 71. On the state charts, "Cryin'" had the most success in Western Australia, where it reached number 51 in April 1989.
Waterfront hailed from Wales, and despite its low local peak, "Cry"
debuted on the Australian chart almost two months before it entered
their native UK singles chart, where it peaked at number 17. Another
interesting fact about this one is that it performed better on the US
chart (number 10), and also did better across the ditch, where it peaked
at number 30 in New Zealand.
Locally, "Cry" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 74 on the state chart. "Cry" peaked higher nationally on the Australian Music Report chart, where it reached number 100 in July 1989.
Number 154 "Tender Hands" by Chris de Burgh
Peak: number 152
Peak date: 17 April 1989
Weeks on chart: 5 weeks
Argentina-born British-Irish singer Chris
de Burgh placed seven singles on the Australian top 100 between 1983 and
1989, with "The Lady in Red" (number 2, December 1986) being biggest one of those.
"Tender Hands" was the second single lifted from Chris' ninth studio album Flying Colours (number 37, March 1989), following "Missing You" (number 45, February 1989).
Internationally, "Tender Hands" peaked at number 43 in the UK in January 1989, and number 18 in Ireland during the same month.
Locally, "Tender Hands" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 79.
Number 161 "Born This Way (Let's Dance)" by Cookie Crew
Peak: number 161
Peak date: 3 April 1989
Weeks on chart: 3 weeks
Twenty-two years before Lady Gaga proclaimed that she was "born this
way", Cookie Crew declared the same thing, with a 'Let's Dance'
subtitle. Cookie Crew scored a top 40 hit in Australia, teaming up with The Beatmasters, with "Rok Da House" (number 37, June 1988)
- a song that the Cookie Crew don't actually like, and refused to perform on Top
of the Pops when it became a UK top 10 hit, as they felt it was not
representative of their sound.
While "Born This Way..." may have been
more indicative of the Crew's typical sound, it didn't perform as well
on the charts, either here or in their native UK, where it peaked at
number 23 in January 1989. The single also peaked at number 28 in Ireland in January 1989, number 45 in the Netherlands in March 1989, and number 28 in New Zealand in April 1989.
Domestically, "Born This Way..." performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 99.
In between "Rok Da House" and "Born This Way (Let's Dance)", Cookie crew released the single "Females (Get on Up)" in Australia. While it missed the national chart (before ARIA extended the chart beyond number 100), it registered on two of the state charts in August 1988, peaking at number 94 in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, and at number 66 in Western Australia.
Cookie Crew released two further singles from their Born This Way (number 118, July 1989) album: "Got to Keep On" (released in Australia in July 1989) and "Come on & Get Some" (October 1989), but neither charted locally.
Next week (10 April): another five new top 150 entries, including the flop second single from an album that would go on to be certified 6 times platinum in Australia and spend several years on the chart. Plus, there are three bubbling WAY down under entries. Don't forget you can also follow my posts on facebook.
About 20 years ago, there was a rather amusing website called "Essential Eighties" whose author claimed that "Cry" by Waterfront was issued in no less than 14 different formats in a desperate bid by the record company to make it a hit. (I couldn't seem to verify this on Discogs.com.) He also went on to say that he knew someone who had 13 of those formats in their largely unplayed record collection. And also that the song "sucked". Oh.
Crying was also the B side to She's a Mystery To Me, Roy Orbison's last Australian solo Top 50 (unless California Blue charted, which I believe it just missed our top 50).
As you mention, Billboard is not good at verifying things. Hence the famous case of "Ready 'n' Steady" by D.A charting on their Bubbling Under chart when it was never actually released :-)
About 20 years ago, there was a rather amusing website called "Essential Eighties" whose author claimed that "Cry" by Waterfront was issued in no less than 14 different formats in a desperate bid by the record company to make it a hit. (I couldn't seem to verify this on Discogs.com.) He also went on to say that he knew someone who had 13 of those formats in their largely unplayed record collection. And also that the song "sucked".
ReplyDeleteOh.
Crying was also the B side to She's a Mystery To Me, Roy Orbison's last Australian solo Top 50 (unless California Blue charted, which I believe it just missed our top 50).
ReplyDelete'California Blue' peaked at number 65 on the ARIA singles chart.
DeleteAs you mention, Billboard is not good at verifying things. Hence the famous case of "Ready 'n' Steady" by D.A charting on their Bubbling Under chart when it was never actually released :-)
ReplyDelete